Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Seattle Mariners vs Houston Astros: A AL West classic

The Seattle Mariners are visiting the Houston Astros today at Minute Maid Park.

The Mariners need to hang on

The Seattle Mariners are second in the AL West with a 80-76 record, including 34-44 on the road. After winning three consecutive games against they lost 6-5 last night to the Texas Rangers. The Mariners have a 3.51 ERA, a .219 batting average, a .276 on-base percentage, and 1.08 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Julio Rodriguez leads the team with 147 hits and 70 runs, while Cal Raleigh is on top with 31 home runs.

Are the Astros a real contender in the playoffs?

The Houston Astros are on top of the AL West with a 85-71 record, including 45-33 at home. After winning three consecutive games against the Los Angeles Angels, they lost 9-8 last night. The Astros have a 3.73 ERA, a .228 batting average, a .306 on-base percentage, and 1.24 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Jose Altuve leads the team with 182 hits and 92 runs for the season, and Yordan Alvarez is on top with 35 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Astros are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games overall, 1-6 SU in their last 7 home games against the Mariners and 7-1 SU in their last 8 games against teams from the AL. Seattle has played over the total run line in 5 of their last 6 home games and 4 of their last 5 games against teams from the AL West while have stayed under in 6 of their last 7 games against Seattle. The Mariners are 6-3 SU in their last 9 games overall, 6-3 SU in their last 9 games against Houston, and 5-1 SU in their last 6 games against teams from the AL West. Seattle has played over the total ruin line in 7 of their last 10 games overall, 4 of their last 5 games on the road and 9 of their last 12 games against teams from the AL.

Prediction and Conclusion

The Houston Astros are on the right way to clinch the playoffs and the division title, as they are five games ahead of the Seattle Mariners. The team from the northwest is still hanging on but has only 6.2% of a chance to reach the playoffs. There is no doubt that this series will give those answers, and both teams will start strong today. The Mariners will go with Bryce Miller, who is 11-8 for the season with a 3.06 ERA, 166 K, 173.1 IP, and 0.99 WHIP. Hunter Brown will be the starting pitcher for the Astros, who are also 11-8 for the season with a 3.57 ERA, 171 K, 164 IP, and 1.28 WHIP. The stakes are pretty high in this game, as the series may have a huge impact on the final standings. Therefore, we do not expect a lot of scoring, so we go with under 7.5 runs in total.