Free Daily Lock Pick: MLB: White Sox vs Nationals- September 19th - Max Confidence Comp
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The Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics will play on Tuesday at RingCentral Coliseum. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. PT.
Seattle (81-68 SU and 72-77 RL) is starting right-hander Luis Castillo. The 30-year-old is 13-7 with a 3.08 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in 30 outings.
Oakland (46-103 SU and 73-76 RL) is countering with righty Paul Blackburn. The 29-year-old is 4-5 with a 4.14 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP in 19 outings (18 starts) this season.
The Mariners are -212 moneyline favorites and the game total is 7.5 runs.
*Article published before the conclusion of Monday's game.
Key Injuries
Seattle: 1B Evan White and C Tom Murphy are out.
Oakland: CF JJ Bleday is sidelined.
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How will Seattle get back to its winning ways?
Seattle is in a downward spiral, dropping seven of its last ten games. Can it reclaim its swagger before it's too late?
The Mariners score 4.72 runs per game (10th) and hit .244 (19th) with a .738 OPS (15th). They've launched 195 long balls (12th) and stolen 109 bases (14th) in 2023. The Seattle pitching staff has compiled a 3.74 ERA (1st) and a 1.18 WHIP (3rd) with 69 quality starts (2nd).
Castillo will toe the rubber for the visitors on Tuesday in Oakland. The seventh-year pro is 5-4 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in 14 road starts. In his last outing, he held the Angels to two runs and three hits with eight strikeouts in six innings. Castillo held Oakland scoreless with eight Ks in six innings on May 22.
Free Daily Lock Pick: MLB: White Sox vs Nationals- September 19th - Max Confidence Comp Click to see the pick now
Baseball is a lost cause in Oakland
Oakland is coming off a series sweep at home to San Diego. The A's are leaving Oakland soon but simply moving the franchise isn't a solution for the team's on-field woes.
The Athletics average 3.66 runs (30th) and hit .224 (30th) with a .672 OPS (30th). They've hit 160 long balls (22nd) and stolen 136 bases (5th) this season. The pitching staff has posted a 5.58 ERA (29th) and a 1.53 WHIP (29th) with 28 quality starts (30th).
Blackburn will take the mound for Oakland on Tuesday evening. In his last outing, the seventh-year pro gave up four runs and two homers in three innings in a loss to Houston. He's 2-2 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP in nine home starts this year.
Best Bets for this Game
Full-Game Side Bet
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Castillo has had pretty good stuff recently, holding three of his last four opponents to eight total hits in 19 combined frames. He's held five of his last seven opponents to four combined runs, too. The M's could use another quality start from him on Tuesday after dropping four of six games to the LA clubs.
Blackburn has only lasted six total innings in his last two outings, giving up six runs and ten hits, including three home runs. The Mariners actually have better road splits (.248 BA/.326 OBP/.428 SLG/.754 OPS) than home splits (.239/.318/.402/.720) and had some success against the A's starter last season, scoring seven runs on ten hits on June 22.
Seattle sports a 23-16 RL record (59.0%) against its division opponents this season. I'll wager five units at -115 odds that they cover again on Tuesday in Oakland!
Full-Game Total Pick
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Betting Trends: The over is 38-35-2 in Seattle's road games and 55-44-4 in its games versus American League teams this year.
Blackburn has pitched just 11 total innings in three September starts, posting a 5.73 ERA and 2.09 WHIP. He's walked 11 batters in his last four starts and could be in for a rocky start if he puts too many Mariners on base tomorrow night. The Oakland bullpen, which has the worst ERA and WHIP in MLB, certainly isn't going to bail him out.
Castillo pitched well in his last two starts but gave up five runs and eight hits on September 2 and was shelled for 11 runs on 19 hits in two of his first three outings in August. All three appearances came on the road against non-playoff contenders — the Angels, Royals, and Mets — so it's not unfathomable that he could drop the ball on Tuesday.
At 7.5, I feel the total is too low — there is value in a bet on the over to cash!