Mariners vs Astros Prediction (Aug 19) MLB Betting Tips

The Seattle Mariners will face the Houston Astros on Saturday, August 19th, 2023 in Major League Baseball action. These are two teams that are battling for positioning as the home stretch of the current MLB season approaches. The Mariners are underdogs in Saturday’s game, one that Houston will host at 7:10 PM ET. Our Mariners vs Astros prediction is that the Mariners will either win this game or lose a close game. Accordingly, we’re going to be looking at the handicap option with Seattle.

Mariners vs Astros Prediction: Starting Pitching

The Seattle Mariners will start Logan Gilbert. He is 10-5 on the season, he has a great WHIP of 1.06, and his ERA is 3.80. He also has more strikeouts than innings pitched so far at 143 Ks in 142 innings.

Framber Valdez, who threw a no-hitter not long ago, opposes Gilbert. He is 9-8 on the season with a 3.31 ERA. Valdez has a WHIP of 1.08 and he has struck out 148 batters in 149 innings pitched.

The starting pitchers are statistically similar. If you were to go with short-term form, then you would have more confidence in Logan. He had four wins in five starts in July. He is 1-0 so far in August. Furthermore, he one-hit San Diego through seven innings in a game from not too long ago.

Valdez’s no-hitter, from some points of view, came out of nowhere. Yes, he used to be the Cy Young favorite in the American League. However, an atrocious month of July ended that. His no-hitter is the only game that he pitched well in among his last six starts. Furthermore, the no-hitter only came against Cleveland, a team that has been drifting in recent weeks. Although the starters look even on paper, you’d prefer Seattle’s right now.

Pitching matchup aside, let’s look at the short-term form for each team.

• Formerly: 38 – 42 on July 1st, 2023
• Currently: 67 – 55 (overall)
• Recent form: 29 – 13 since July 1st, 2023
• Recent winning rate: .691

• Formerly: 45 – 37 on July 1st, 2023
• Currently: 70 – 53 (overall)
• Recent form: 25 – 16 since July 1st, 2023
• Recent winning rate: .610

Clearly, neither of these teams has been a slouch over the last month and a half. However, it’s clearly the Mariners that have been the much better team. With a .691 winning rate in recent weeks, they are in red-hot form. You have to like them for a spread bet in this game. Our recommendation is to take the Mariners at +1.5 and odds of -160 with bet365.