MLB Game Preview for Friday August 12, 2011: Boston Red Sox @ Seattle Mariners

Bet On Sports Overview

It did not take the Seattle Mariners long to find their winning ways after finally breaking one of the longest losing streaks in all of baseball history. The Mariners are an interesting mix of very young players and experienced veterans. But when the wheels started to come off, it looked like the Mariners lacked leadership. For the first couple months of the season, it was the Mariners’ pitching that kept them in contention for the AL West pennant. Seattle fans were hoping that the offense would come around and the team would become a contender this year. But the Seattle offense still sits at the bottom of the majors in most categories, and even Ichiro is having problems driving in runs this year.

 

The Boston Red Sox are caught up in one of the more ferocious pennant races in baseball. The Red Sox’ 72-44 record gives the team the second-most wins in MLB, but it only puts Boston a game and a half ahead of the 70-45 New York Yankees. It is the kind of race that baseball betting fans dream of, and both the Red Sox and Yankees have shown that they can lose to any team at any time. The Red Sox were just beaten in a series against the Minnesota Twins and now they face a Seattle team that is finding its groove again. The Yankees are toiling against the red hot Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, which makes this series the perfect chance for the Red Sox to pad their lead for the AL East pennant.

 

Seattle Mariners

Blake Beavan takes the mound for Seattle in this game, and if you have not heard of Beavan then you may want to keep listening because he may be mentioned a lot in the future. Beavan has a 3-2 record on the season with a 2.83 ERA. He is one of those young and talented pitchers that the Mariners seem to be loaded with. But the MLB baseball news for Beavan is not all good in this game. He faced the Boston Red Sox on July 23rd and gave up three runs on nine hits in six and two-thirds innings. He even struck out four and walked no one, but he still lost the game. He was the victim of whatever bad luck was following the Mariners around at that point and some bad umpiring as well. If he can shake those memories, then he has a chance to get some revenge against the Red Sox in this game.

 

Boston Red Sox

After a really rough start to the 2011 season, and some injury problems, it looks like John Lackey is finally back on track. As he takes the mound for this game against the Mariners, Lackey is 5-0 in his last six starts. But the concern for Boston is that Lackey is relying too much on the potent Boston offense to win games. Lackey’s ERA in his last 10 starts is 5.03 and he is giving up an average of almost eight hits per game in that stretch. The Red Sox are hoping that Lackey can continue to win games and bring his stats down as Boston prepares to enter the post-season.

 

The Bottom Line

This should be an interesting pitcher’s duel. The betonline.com fans in Seattle are extremely impressed with Beavan, and the Red Sox need to see more consistency out of Lackey. In the end, this game will come down to who has the better offense, and that is Boston.

 

Pick: Boston Red Sox

 

 

Leave a Reply