Tonight at 7:15 p.m. ET, the Seattle Mariners are in Cleveland to face the Guardians in the second matchup of a three-game series. Cleveland won last night’s game 5-4. The Guardians have won three straight while the Mariners are 1-2 in their previous three contests.
Seattle is starting Logan Gilbert, who is 4-5 with a 3.69 ERA this season, as Cleveland will have Gavin Williams on the mound. Williams has an 8-5 record with a 3.36 ERA this year. Here is my breakdown of the game and my best bet for the contest on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Mariners at Guardians preview
Although the Guardians beat the Mariners last night, Seattle has won three of the previous four games between the two. The Mariners also haven’t suffered two straight defeats since August 20. Seattle’s best player, Cal Raleigh, has hit 50 home runs with 107 RBIs this season and is due for a long ball after not hitting one in the previous three games. The Mariners need more production around Raleigh as they are batting .237 as a team in the last week.
Mariners starter Gilbert is coming off a monster 13-strikeout performance against the Athletics on August 24. Gilbert has been inconsistent this season, but has still shown flashes of greatness. He has allowed one or fewer runs in three of his previous five starts. On the other end, Williams has been up and down as well. He has only pitched three innings in two of his last three outings.
Before Cleveland’s current winning streak, they had lost nine of their previous 10 games, being shut out four times. If Gilbert can get off to a hot start while getting support from his offense, Seattle will be in a good position to bounce back. A bright spot for Seattle in the last week has been Jorge Polanco, who is batting .421 with eight hits, six RBIs, and two home runs during the previous six contests.
Mariners at Guardians pick, best bet
Although the Mariners have struggled recently, they still posted a 14-11 record in August, which ties them for the 7th-best record in the MLB during that span. Getting Seattle at -144 on DraftKings Sportsbook is a good value play even though they are coming off a loss to Cleveland.
