Series Win up for Grabs – Tampa Bay Rays vs. Seattle Mariners

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Seattle Mariners 6:40 ET

Safeco Field will be the site of the third and final game of the series between the Tampa Bay Rays (6-9, -$399) and the Seattle Mariners (9-6, +$378). The squads split the first two games of this series, as the M’s took Game one 4-2, while the Rays rebounded with a 9-3 victory last night. The Tampa Bay win snapped a three game slide and ended a spurt of six out of seven losses. Eight of the nine Tampa Bay starters logged a hit last night, while rookie SP Jeff Niemann picked up his first career ‘W’ after allowing two earned runs in 5.1 innings of work. The 3.2 scoreless innings by the Tampa Bay bullpen was their best outing since the losing skid began.

BetOnline Sportsbook customers can currently find the Mariners as slender -115 favorites today, while the ‘total’ in this sports betting affair has been lined at 7.5 over -110.

“Big Game” James Shields will be taking the ball in the rubber match for the Rays this afternoon. He won his last start against the White Sox last Friday night, but was touched up for five runs in 7.1 innings pitched. A 4.57 ERA isn’t on par with what Tampa Bay bettors have come to expect from their righty, but a solid WHIP of 1.27 should only improve as the year wears on (1.15 in 2008, 1.20 for his career). Shields has been fantastic against the M’s in his career, but hasn’t gotten much in the way of support for his efforts. He has a 2.12 career ERA and 0.91 career WHIP against Seattle, but is only 1-1 to show for it in four starts.

The M’s will counter with their ace, “King” Felix Hernandez. So far this season, the righty has looked fantastic in two of his three outings, including last week’s 6-3 win over the Tigers at Safeco Field. He allowed seven hits and three runs over 6.0 innings of work, but fanned six and only walked one in the process. Considering how awful last season was for Seattle bettors, Hernandez made out just fine. The M’s went 15-16 in his 31 starts, and only lost $378 in the process. His core numbers to start his career have all been solid (3.81 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 8.05 K/9, 2.76 K/BB), but it has only translated into a 41-36 career record thanks to the fact that the Mariners haven’t fielded a solid team behind him. Expect to see much better from the righty for baseball bettors this season.

For his career, Shields is a much more effective pitcher at Tropicana Field (21-8, 3.30 ERA) than he is on the road (13-17, 4.76 ERA). The Rays have won six of his L/8 road starts, but in games against teams that finished the season over .500, he is just 1-9 on the road in his L/10 starts. Seattle may not finish the season above .500, but it is sure looking that way right now. Hernandez’s career K/9 at home is near nine, and April is his best career month (7-5, 3.18 ERA). Expect the Mariners to win the rubber game and head to Los Angeles with a full head of steam…

Rose’s Recommendation: 3* Seattle Mariners -115

(Rating Scale: 1* – 5*)