Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays Prediction: Should You Trust Luis Castillo, Mariners?
The Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners are playing the final game of their series today. Should you trust Luis Castillo and the Mariners against the red-hot Rays? Handicapper Krabs explains why you should.
Krabs - July 2, 2023, 12:06 PM EDT
5 minSeattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays Prediction: Should You Trust Luis Castillo, Mariners?
The Tampa Bay Rays are the best team in baseball, but on the road, they are beatable. In the Trop, it’s going to be tough to beat the Rays, who are nearly 30 games over .500 on the season. Tampa is only four games over .500 on the road, and they face a tough challenge in the series finale against Luis Castillo this afternoon. Will the Rays lose the series against Castillo and the struggling Seattle Mariners?
Mariners vs. Rays Start Time and Where to Watch
- Date: July 2, 2023
- Time: 4:10 pm ET
- Where to Watch: MLB.TV
Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays Prediction
Luis Castillo is happy June is over. Although his ERA is still below 3.00 for the season, he struggled a bit in June, giving up seven home runs over his last four starts. Seattle only won one of Castillo’s five June starts, and that was against the Nationals. It’s definitely interesting to see Castillo and the Mariners as the betting favorite with the odds moving toward them, considering they’ve played so poorly in 2023.
The Rays look like a great wager at plus money, but what the public doesn’t know is how different this Rays team is on the road compared to at home. They are significantly worse away from the Trop, and facing Castillo tonight, it won’t get any easier for the Rays on the road.
Taj Bradley has pitched well in his rookie season, but the young righty is coming off the worst start of his career in Arizona. If Taj pitches anything as he did against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, this game will be over early. Seattle’s offense has looked alive against the Rays this entire series, as they roughed up Shane McClanahan in Game 1 and beat the Rays 8-3 in Game 2.
This Seattle team caught fire around this time last season when they ended their playoff drought. JP Crawford, Ty France and Eugenio Suarez have all carried their weight this season, but it’s time for Julio Rodriguez to step up. Although he owns a better average against left-handed pitching, the Mariners’ young star has much more pop against righties. 10 of his 14 home runs and 21 of his 28 XBHs have come off right-handed pitching this season. JRod is heating up recently, hitting .300 over his last seven games. Expect him to have a big impact on this game offensively, and don’t be surprised if he hits his 15th home run of the season against Bradley this afternoon.
Fading the Rays isn’t typically the smartest betting strategy, but in this spot against a superior arm on the road, the Mariners are the play this afternoon. Back them on the moneyline as a small favorite to win the series and hand the Rays their 20th loss on the road this season.
Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays Pick
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