The Cleveland Guardians take on the Seattle Mariners. Check out our MLB odds series for our Guardians Mariners prediction and pick.
Shane Bieber takes the bump for the Guardians, while Logan Gilbert will go to the mound for the Mariners.
Shane Bieber has a 3.10 ERA. As the Guardians have risen in the standings and solidified their lead in the American League Central, Bieber has pitched better and better. In his last five starts, Bieber has pitched 33 1/3 innings — an average of 6 2/3 innings per start — and allowed six earned runs. That’s an ERA of under 1.70. The Guardians have the best closer in the American League, Emmanuel Clase, but they need their starters to give them a lead heading into the seventh and eighth innings so that Clase can bring down the hammer. Bieber’s emergence over the past few weeks has been an essential part of the Guardians’ improved fortunes. If Cleveland gets into an October series, Bieber will be asked to pitch in one of the games. He is currently performing like a man who relishes the spotlight instead of shrinking under its glare.
Logan Gilbert had a 2.78 ERA at the end of July. He was giving the Mariners everything they could have hoped for. Then he ran into problems in August. He gave up 13 runs in a two-start sequence at the beginning of the month. In his two most recent starts, he has been better, but still not particularly imposing: 11 innings pitched, six runs allowed. The Mariners need Gilbert to be at his best so that Seattle can end its 21-year playoff drought. The Mariners really need Gilbert to pitch into the seventh inning and reduce the number of outs the bullpen needs to get on any given night.
Courtesy of FanDuelhere are the Guardians-Mariners MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Guardians-Mariners Odds
Cleveland Guardians: -1.5 (+164)
Seattle Mariners: +1.5 (-200)
Over: 7 (-104)
Under: 7 (-118)
Why The Guardians Could Cover the Spread
The Guardians scored a first-inning run on Thursday afternoon in Seattle and then didn’t score another run. The day game, played after a plane flight from Seattle, produced a flat performance from the Guardians. With a full day of rest in Seattle and a night game on Friday, the Guardians should deliver a much better performance. Expect them to hit Gilbert reasonably well and back up the pitching of Shane Bieber, who is locked in right now. Cleveland has played really good baseball over the past week, while the Mariners lost a series to the A’s and split two games with the Nationals at home.
Why The Mariners Could Cover the Spread
After Thursday’s win, there is a sense that the Mariners have regained their footing. The losses to the A’s and Nats were gut punches. Good teams — playoff teams — shrug off those setbacks and reset the next day. The Mariners managed to do that against Triston McKenzie, a very good Cleveland pitcher. If the M’s could beat McKenzie, they can definitely beat Bieber and take yet another step towards ending the longest playoff drought in Major League Baseball at 21 years. Given the way Julio Rodriguez and Mitch Haniger are raking at the moment, the Mariners have to like their chances as they continue with this crucial four-game series in the Pacific Northwest.
Final Guardians-Mariners Prediction & Pick
If you insist on a pick here, you might as well go with the team getting a run and a half on the run line, which is the Mariners. However, all things considered, you should probably stay away from this game. The teams are evenly matched. The pitchers are evenly matched. There is no obvious favorite.
Final Guardians-Mariners Prediction & Pick: Mariners +1.5
