Thursday MLB: Seattle Mariners (53-48) at Texas Rangers (56-43)
Most experts figured the Seattle Mariners were going to be sellers leading up to the trade deadline.
The streaking Angels had basically put the M’s out of contention for the AL West title, and Seattle was behind a few clubs for the wild card. It seemed time to get some value for some veterans and really try to contend in 2010.
So much for that.
On Wednesday, the Mariners acquired shortstop Jack Wilson and starting pitcher Ian Snell from the Pirates for a bunch of prospects (and Ronny Cedeno). The Pirates had tried to sign Wilson to an extension, but he resisted. He certainly upgrades Seattle at short, as Wilson is batting .267 with four home runs and 31 RBIs, not to mention being a very good defender. He probably will debut tonight.
Snell has pitched impressively in Triple-A after struggling in the majors early in the season. He is 2-2 with a 0.96 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings.
Still, these moves could just mean Seattle is planning for next year, and in fact the M’s still probably will trade left-handed starter Jarrod Washburn, who is having an excellent year. Then Seattle could just plug Snell in that spot.
The Mariners just took two of three from Toronto and theoretically could pass Texas in the AL West with a sweep this weekend. The Rangers are 6-3 against the Mariners this year, having swept a three-game series in Arlington back on May 12-14. But the Mariners won three of four the last time they met just before the All-Star break in Seattle.
Rangers pitchers have a 3.22 ERA in their nine games against the Mariners and held them to a .215 batting average. That’s the Mariners’ second-lowest batting average against any team this season.
Texas should have second baseman Ian Kinsler back in the lineup. Kinsler, who has 23 homers and a team-high 63 RBIs this year, didn’t play Wednesday because of a strained left hamstring he suffered Tuesday.
The Rangers have opened as -150 money line favorites on WagerWeb.com for tonight’s opener. This despite starting struggling pitcher Derek Holland (3-6, 6.13 ERA). He is just 1-2 with a 7.52 ERA in his past four starts. Opponents are hitting .346 with runners in scoring position against him.
Seattle counters with Garrett Olson (3-4, 5.37 ERA). He has a 2.76 ERA in 10 relief appearances, but a 6.24 ERA in 10 starts this season, and he was bombed last time out vs. Detroit.
This should be a high-scoring game, indeed.
MLB Betting at WagerWeb.com
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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