MLB playoff picks October 13: Back the Mariners to start hot behind Castillo

Mother Nature put a stop to one of Thursday’s ALDS Game 2 matchups. Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros are playing.

The Seattle Mariners are a good bet for early-innings betting. Luis Castillo is pitching well lately.

Mariners are up 3-0 after three innings in Game 1 against Houston. Luis Castillo is starting for the road side. He dominated Toronto in the wild card game.

Shane Bieber and Nestor Cortes are going to have a pitcher's duel tonight. Bieber has five-plus strikeouts in seven of his past eight starts, while Corte has four-or-more Ks in 13 of the past 15.

Bieber and Cortes have an MLB-low strikeout rate this season (18.2%) and an NHL-high contact rate (80.8%). Corte collected 14 Ks over 12.1 innings against Cleveland this year. Bieber has a 34. 2% strike-out-rate against New York.

CLE/NYC under 6.5 runs. Both Bieber and Cortes have been in fine form lately. The Yankees won the first game 4-1.