Sports Bet Overview
If anyone would have predicted that the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers would be battling for their divisional pennants while the online Belmont betting was going on, they would have been called crazy. By this point in the season, the Mariners are supposed to be double-digits out of first place and the Tigers should already be holding up the basement of the AL Central. But as it stands, the horse betting in the AL is just beginning. Both the Mariners and the Tigers are second-place teams trying desperately to keep pace with the first place teams in their divisions.
MLB fans are surprised that the Mariners are able to keep pace with last year’s AL champion Texas Rangers. The Rangers have the second-best record in the AL behind the Boston Red Sox, but the Seattle Mariners are keeping pace at only two and a half games out. The Tigers are chasing the Cleveland Indians and the Tigers keep winning while the wheels fall off in Cleveland. The Indians’ tailspin has cut the gap between Cleveland and Detroit down to one and a half games. This series is very important for both the Mariners and the Tigers, even at this early point in the season.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners are going to try and get even more competitive as the rehabilitation of starting pitcher Erik Bedard continues in this game. Bedard has a 3-4 record this season, but his ERA is 3.46. He experienced some injury problems early in the season, but the Mariners feel that it is all behind Bedard now. In his last start, Bedard went seven innings and gave up only three runs. The Mariners will need to strengthen their pitching because their hitting is dead last in many categories in MLB. The Mariners have the worst team batting average in MLB, and are at or near the bottom of the rankings in runs scored and home runs. The Mariners will say that they are being economical in their run scoring and hitting. Experience says that the Mariners need to start hitting the baseball if they want to compete for the AL West pennant.
Detroit Tigers
Brad Penny gets his chance at redemption against the Mariners as he takes the mound to start this game. Penny has a 5-4 record and a 4.76 ERA, but the last time he faced the Mariners was April 28 when he gave up four runs and lost the game. On May 14, Penny threw eight scoreless innings against the Royals in a game he won. Penny should be a nightmare for a team like the Mariners that cannot seem to hit the ball. But the Mariners did not seem to have a problem hitting Penny the last time they faced him, so this should be a very interesting match-up.
The Bottom Line
The Mariners cannot continue to drag along like this and hope to win the pennant. At some point, the Mariner bats are going to have to come to life. But in this game, with the Mariners facing a pitcher they have had success against and Erik Bedard continuing to improve on the mound for Seattle, it could be a case of good timing for the Mariners.
Pick: Seattle Mariners
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