The Seattle Mariners (26-24) will host the Pittsburgh Pirates (25-24) on Saturday in the sandwich game of a three game series. Friday's late night game was not yet underway at the time of this preview.
Falling back to reality
The Pirates are second in the NL Central trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by 1.5 games. Despite a scorching 20-8 start to the season, the Pirates have struggled lately, dropping 16 of their last 21 games. Taking the mound for Pittsburgh on Saturday will be Roansy Contreras, a promising 23-year-old right-handed pitcher. Contreras holds a 3-4 record with a 4.50 ERA and 1.42 WHIP this season. When pitching away from home, Contreras has shown some success, posting a 3.38 ERA with a 1-2 record. In the 2022 season, Contreras went 2-2 with a 4.27 ERA in 11 road starts. The Pirates bullpen is tied for 11th in MLB with a 3.71 team ERA.
Bucs after dark
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 26, 2023
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Offensively, the Pirates have had their share of challenges, ranking 20th in the league with an average of 4.4 runs per game. Their power game has also been lacking, as they currently sit 25th in the majors, hitting only 0.9 home runs per game. Bryan Reynolds has been a standout performer, leading in RBI with 28 and sitting in second place with six home runs. Andrew McCutchen, a familiar face to Pirates fans, leads the team in home runs with seven.
Mariners coming in off four game sweep
The Seattle Mariners are on a four-game winning streak after sweeping the A's winning games by the scores of 11-2, 3-2, 6-1, and 3-2 in the previous series. The Mariners are fourth in a competitive AL West sitting 5.5 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers. At home, Seattle is 14-12 overall.
The Mariners are 16th averaging 4.5 runs per game, and 18th hitting 1.1 home runs per game. Jarred Kelenic leads the team with a 1.6 WAR, .284 batting average, 10 home runs, and is second with 25 RBI. Eugenio Suarez is only batting .222 on the season but leads the way with 29 RBI.
🛫 RETWEET TO WIN 🛬
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 26, 2023
It’s another Fly, Fly Away Friday! @JRODshow44 is on board and wants to give you a shot at winning 50,044 @AlaskaAir miles, two tickets to a game and a Mariners gameday package. #FlyFlyAwaySweepstakes https://t.co/uJOxLRq69i pic.twitter.com/duaaecmqzZ
Luis Castillo (3-2, 2.97 ERA) will get the start. The Mariners are 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA in seven home starts, far better than his road output. On Monday, Castillo tossed six shutout innings in an 11-2 win over Oakland. On the season the Mariners are third in MLB with a 3.05 ERA.
Best Bets for this Game
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Momentum is on the side of the Mariners, even if their current winning streak includes four wins over an A's team that is having a historically terrible season. The Mariners have the edge on the mound with Castillo and with a deeper bullpen. Since May 1, the Pirates have been the second worst team in MLB ahead of only Oakland. The Mariners have been trending the other way, winning 14 of their last 22 games which gives them fourth best winning percentage in the big leagues over that time span. Back Seattle on the runline.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
I don't think we will get enough two way scoring for these team to combine for eight runs. The Mariners have gone six straight games without allowing more than three runs, and on the other side, Pirates offense have been held to three runs or less in four of its last five contest. As for the Pirates starter Roansy Contreas, when he has started on the road the club has held all four of their opponents to four runs or less. The play here is the under.