Mariners vs Rangers Preview: AL West’s Best Clash In Texas
Division’s Top Teams Battle For First
The top two teams in the AL West clash with first place on the line as the Seattle Mariners visit the Texas Rangers for a key three-game series beginning on Tuesday night.
Texas is atop the division currently, but Seattle is just a half-game back after winning five of its last six. Our Mariners vs Rangers preview will help you determine how to make your bets on this series.
The Rangers have won four of their last seven contests, including pulling out a 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday night.
The defending World Series champions have been up and down for much of this season and need to get back on track to hold off the Mariners for the top spot in the American League baseball standings for the West Division.
Seattle is coming off taking two of three on the road from the Colorado Rockies over the weekend, putting it at .500 on the season. The Mariners have gone 7-3 over their last 10 to reach the break-even point.
The Mariners are the slightest of favorites for the series opener on Tuesday, getting -106 odds on the moneyline compared to the Rangers at -104.
The baseball odds for the run line have Seattle at +150 when giving 1.5 runs, while Texas is listed at -170 when getting those runs. The over/under has been set at nine runs, with the under getting -115 odds and the over listed at -105.
The series will have a pair of 8:05 p.m. ET starts on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Thursday’s series finale set for a 2:35 p.m. ET first pitch.
Texas Rangers vs Seattle Mariners 
Day/Time:
Location: Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX
Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Logan Gilbert (Seattle) vs Dane Dunning (Texas)
The Mariners’ series-opening starter, Logan Gilbert, has been extremely good this season but has just a 1-0 record to show for it.
Gilbert has an ERA of 2.33 and has struck out 29 batters in 27 innings of work over four starts. In three of those starts, Gilbert has allowed just a single run, but he hasn’t received enough early run support to pick up victories, as the Mariners have won two of his starts in extra innings.
By contrast, the other starter on Tuesday, Dale Dunning, has allowed three earned runs in three of his four starts this season, but he has a 2-1 record. Dunning has been solid, coming into this one with a 3.91 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 23 innings, but he’s also walked 13 batters and given up five home runs.
Game 2: Bryce Miller (Seattle) vs Jon Gray (Texas)
Seattle should have the pitching edge in the second game of the series as well, with Bryce Miller coming to the mound with a 3-1 record and a 1.85 ERA. Over his last three starts – a total of 19.1 innings – Miller has allowed just one earned run and seven total hits.
The 25-year-old righty has been lights out since a loss in his season debut to the Boston Red Sox.
Texas will have right-hander Jon Gray getting the start for the second game of the series. Gray is 0-1 with a 3.15 ERA in five appearances, four of them starts. Gray worked out of the bullpen in his last outing, going 1.2 shutout innings in a loss to Atlanta on Saturday, striking out four.
In his three prior starts, he went 14.2 innings and allowed two earned runs, striking out 19.
Game 3: Luis Castillo (Seattle) vs Andrew Heaney (Texas)
Right-hander Luis Castillo is scheduled to wrap up the three-game series on the mound for Seattle. Castillo is 1-4 with a 4.40 ERA in five starts this season, though he’s coming off an outstanding outing.
Playing at Coors Field on Saturday, Castillo pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits while striking out nine to pick up his first win of 2024.
The Rangers will send lefty Andrew Heaney to the mound for his fifth start of the season in the series finale. Heaney is 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA this season. He’s coming off his longest outing of the campaign, a five-inning stint against Atlanta on Friday in which he allowed three runs on three hits, two of them home runs.
Offense Should Be The Difference In Series
The Rangers have one of the better offenses in baseball so far this season, with the team’s .256 batting average ranking seventh and the run total of 114 sitting ninth in the majors. Seattle has been on the other end of that spectrum, ranking 24th in runs (84) and 22nd in batting average (.229).
Outfielder Adolis Garcia has been one of the biggest bats in the Rangers’ lineup, as he has a .326 batting average (14th in baseball) with seven doubles, six home runs, 22 RBI and 16 runs scored. He is on a five-game hitting streak entering this series and was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBI and a run scored in Sunday’s win over Atlanta.
The Mariners have had more of a balanced attack this season, though it needs to be more consistent. Catcher Cal Raleigh leads the team with five home runs, driving in 11 runs and scoring 10 times. Outfielder Mitch Haniger has three doubles, three home runs, a team-best 13 RBI and 10 runs scored.
Mariners’ Pitching Powers Series Win
This series is going to be a great one, with both teams having their moments throughout. Individual players will also allow for some MLB parlays to be bet. When you’re betting on the games, however, the Mariners are the team to take.
Seattle has been playing more consistently of late, and the Mariners’ starting rotation is just better than the Rangers’ at this point. Look for the visitors to take at least two out of three in this three-game series, setting the tone for a tight battle for the division throughout the season.
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