League Leaders Collide – Mariners at Royals

BetOnline MLB betting odds:  Royals -120, Mariners +100, Total 10

Right-handers will oppose each other tonight as Carlos Silva of the Mariners (1-2, 7.36 ERA) goes up against Sidney Ponson of the Royals (0-4, 7.16 ERA).

Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• SEA has lost four of its last six games
• SEA has won seven of its last ten road games
• SEA has lost 17 of its last 25 road games
• KC has won six of its last seven games
• KC has played seven of its last eight games OVER the total
• KC has won five of its last six home games
• KC has played four of its last five home games OVER the total

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:

• KC has won seven of the last nine meetings
• KC has won six of the last seven meetings as the home team

Kansas City is on a roll right now with four straight wins, including an 8-7 victory over the White Sox last night that saw John Buck drive in the winning run in the 11th inning. Seattle was swept in a two-game series by Texas, and last night’s loss was particularly tough to take, inasmuch as they were tied at 1-1 going into the bottom of the 10th, but Jarrod Saltamacchia hit a grand slam and the Rangers scored six runs to win it 7-2. The Royals currently lead the AL Central by a game and a half over Detroit, while Seattle is clinging to a half-game lead over Texas in the AL West.

Carlos Silva has failed to go beyond the fifth inning in four of his five outings this season. Last time out he was hit hard by the Oakland Athletics, lasting 3-2/3 frames and surrendering six runs. If there is something good to be said about Silva, it’s that in each of his first four starts, he walked only one batter. "He has some skeletons in his closet, obviously, from the failures he’s had here and disappointments from last year," says manager Don Wakamatsu. Silva has lost 17 of his last 19 decisions.

Sidney Ponson is the only Kansas City starter who really hasn’t worked out well thus far. The Royals have not won any of the games he’s started, and last time out he was lifted with two outs in the fifth inning against the Twins after allowing seven runs to cross the plate. That was especially upsetting, only because that came on the heels of a very encouraging performance, as he struck out seven Detroit Tigers and allowed just six hits in eight innings on April 26. The Royals, by the way, have lost all five times he has started a game.

Brian Bannister has come back from the minors and has pitched well, while Luke Hochevar is mowing them down in Triple-A with a 5-0 record and 1.13 ERA, so it is quite possible that this becomes a do-or-die situation for Ponson, who did manage to go 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA against Seattle last year.

The do-or-die thing sounds good to me, since I trust Silva less, and I believe in Kansas City. So it’s the Royals at -120 in the BetOnline American League baseball sports betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY:  KANSAS CITY (-120)

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)