Tampa Bay Rays vs Seattle Mariners Prediction 9-8-23 MLB Picks
The Seattle Mariners and the Tampa Bay Rays meet Friday in MLB action from Tropicana Field. This will be the second installment in a four-game weekend series. In the Thursday opener, Seattle eked out a low-scoring victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners took on the Reds this week, losing the first two games 6-3 and 7-6. In the finale Seattle avoided the sweep with an 8-4 win thanks in part to JP Crawford’s three-run homer. In the opener versus the Rays Thursday, the Mariners got one RBI from Mike Ford in the second inning and held on for a 1-0 win on just five team hits.
For the starting pitcher job on Friday, Seattle will go with George Kirby. This year in 26 starts Kirby is 10-9 with a 3.39 ERA and 145 strikeouts over 159.1 innings. Kirby is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA over his last seven starts.
Seattle Mariners Team Facts
- The Mariners have won each of their last 10 night games following a road win.
- The Mariners have covered the run line 12 of their last 13 games at Tropicana Field against teams that held a winning record.
- The Mariners have led after 5 innings in each of their last 11 road night games.
- The Mariners have led after 7 innings in each of their last five night games against opponents that held a winning record.
- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Mariners' last four road games against AL East opponents.
Tampa Bay Rays
Over on the Rays’ side, their last series was against the rival Red Sox. After a split in the first two games, in the rubber match Tampa Bay managed a two-run win. Brandon Lowe and Isaac Paredes each homered in that one. In the Thursday matchup the Rays had four hits in the loss. Zack Littell had a nice outing in the losing effort with 8.0 innings, one earned, four hits and one walk.
As the starter for the Friday game two, the Rays are going with Taj Bradley. This year Bradley is 5-7 with a 5.42 ERA in 17 starts. Bradley is 0-4 with a 7.92 ERA over his last seven starts, striking out 35 batters in 30.2 innings.
Tampa Bay Rays Team Facts
- The Rays have won each of their last eight night games against American League opponents following a home loss.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven night games against the Mariners at Tropicana Field following a home loss.
- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Rays' last five night games at Tropicana Field.
- The Rays have led after 3 innings in each of their last five Friday games against opponents that held a winning record.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Tampa Bay Rays ranks 1st in the league for opponent batting average this season (.231).
- The Tampa Bay Rays ranks 1st in the league for home runs allowed this season (146).
- The Seattle Mariners ranks 1st in the league for ERA this season (3.69).
- The Seattle Mariners ranks 1st in the league for walks allowed this season (351).
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably try the Rays in this one, but I’m not thrilled about it. Bradley hasn’t won a game in a while. Over his last three starts Bradley is 0-1 with nine earned run in 13.1 innings of work, but he didn’t pitch in the Majors during August. Bradley is coming off one earned in 5.0 frames versus Cleveland, though. As for Kirby he’s given up 10 earned runs over his last 14.2 innings in three starts, going 0-1 in that time. On Thursday Tampa Bay played a great game on the mound but couldn’t get their bats going. The Rays have three or fewer runs in three of their last four games, so the offense needs to come around in game two.
