The final series of the MLB season features a battle between western division champions. The Los Angeles Dodgers locked up the National League West title for the 12th time in the last 13 years, securing the third seed in the NL playoffs. Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners captured the American League West crown for the first time since 2001, earning a first-round bye with the second seed in the AL bracket.
While this series won’t affect either team’s seeding, both squads will be hungry to finish the regular season strong and head into October with a full head of steam. The Dodgers took the first game at T-Mobile Park on Friday, looking to secure one final series victory over the Mariners on Saturday night.
First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET, and the Mariners are -132 moneyline favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. The total is set at seven runs.
Dodgers at Mariners, preview
Tyler Glasnow gets things started for Los Angeles. The 32-year-old righty is in his second season with the Dodgers, having been hampered by injuries each year. But when he’s healthy, he’s dominant. Glasnow owns a 3.30 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 103 strikeouts through 17 starts and 87.1 innings this season. Standing at 6’8”, his already solid fastball appears even quicker with a long, 7.6-foot extension that ranks in the top 100th percentile of the league.
Glasnow racks up strikeouts and doesn’t allow many hard hits, though he’s struggled to generate chases and walks a ton of batters — his 11.9% walk rate nearly doubles the mark he posted last season. His high walk numbers have caused him to labor at times, and he’s thrown over 100 pitches in each of his last four starts.
He’s posted a solid 2.89 ERA in September, but the righty is coming off a rocky start. Glasnow gave up four earned runs in five innings on six hits, four walks, and seven strikeouts against the Giants on Sept. 20.
For the home team, Logan Gilbert takes the bump for his 25th and final start of the year. The 28-year-old righty enters with a 3.43 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 168 strikeouts across 126 innings.
His underlying metrics suggest he should be even better, owning a 2.98 xERA that ranks in the top 90th percentile of the league. Gilbert is a strikeout artist and rarely allows free passes. Like Glasnow, the 6’6” righty has an MLB-leading 7.6-foot arm extension that makes his four-seamer look even faster to batters.
Gilbert has been electric in September with a 2.01 ERA across four starts. He recently dominated the Astros, tossing six innings of one-run ball on just three hits, a home run, and four strikeouts.
Dodgers at Mariners pick, best bet
Los Angeles is loaded with All-Stars and has one of the top offenses in the sport — but it won’t look nearly as imposing on Saturday night. National League MVP frontrunner Shohei Ohtani isn’t in the lineup.
The scorching hot Josh Naylor isn’t expected to play for Seattle after leaving Friday’s game with groin tightness, but the Mariners still have one of the most complete lineups that could erupt on Saturday night. Julio Rodriguez has been incredible since the All-Star break, hitting .290 with a .907 OPS and 18 homers. Meanwhile, Cal Raleigh has two more games to bolster his MVP case — and two more games to try to eclipse Aaron Judge’s American League home run record. Raleigh has crushed ten home runs in September, and went two-for-five with a double on Friday.
