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Keagan Smith gives you a preview, prediction and pick for today\u2019s game between the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals on Friday\u2019s MLB slate.<\/p>\n
On Friday\u2019s MLB schedule, there\u2019s an intriguing American League battle taking place at 7:40 p.m. ET. The Kansas City Royals are in the midst of a really rough slump but still have plenty of talent in the batting order, and they\u2019re set to host a Seattle Mariners unit that\u2019s looking to find its form and push closer to the .500 mark. It\u2019s not the headlining matchup of the evening by any means, but there\u2019s plenty of reason to tune in and value in betting markets if you know where to look.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a betting prediction and pick for Friday\u2019s Mariners vs. Royals matchup courtesy of MLB odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.<\/p>\n
The M\u2019s are the definition of a hot-and-cold team. There\u2019s a ton of talent on the roster and the peaks are certainly high, but there have been plenty of valleys this season already as well. Seattle has a 24-27 record and sits third in the AL West, going 5-5 across its last 10 contests. The group brings one of the MLB\u2019s best pitching staffs with an overall ERA of 3.64, a 1.23 WHIP and a 16.4% K-BB% \u2014 all of which rank top 10 among all teams. The bullpen has been just as effective, if not more, with a 3.10 ERA that ranks fourth and the second-best LOB% at 78.3% even despite a 1.35 WHIP. With an array of excellent arms, the Mariners could be a real threat if their bats ever get hot. The team\u2019s .694 OPS ranks 20th on a .226\/.318\/.376 slash line. Despite a .150 ISO and 58 homers, they\u2019re averaging only 4.12 runs per game. The culprit for that? They\u2019re hitting just .215 with RISP, second worst in the sport. Seattle also has an 0.43 BB\/K ratio with the fifth-highest K% but sixth-best BB%.<\/p>\n
Logan Gilbert takes the mound for Seattle tonight with a 2-4 record across 10 starts. The RHP has a 1.15 WHIP but brings the worst ERA of his career since his rookie season at 4.45 \u2014 giving up 11 homers, fifth most among all MLB pitchers, doesn\u2019t help that. His strikeout stuff is still respectable at 57 in 56.2 IP, good for 24.7%.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Royals have found themselves in a much worse situation than tonight\u2019s opponent. They\u2019ve won only one of their last 10 games and have dropped to 20-30 overall, fourth in the AL Central. There\u2019s talent here, yes, but the bats haven\u2019t performed up to par as of late. The team is averaging only 3.88 runs per game with an OPS of .696. The full slash line reads .237\/.314\/.382 with a .145 ISO and 48 homers, but much like Seattle, the Royals are hitting only .227 with RISP, fourth worst in the MLB. Their 0.42 BB\/K ratio is around the league average. The pitching staff has an overall ERA of 4.29 with a 1.38 WHIP and an unspectacular 11.1% K-BB%. The numbers get worse when it comes to the bullpen though, bringing a 4.51 ERA with a 1.49 WHIP and a 9.1% K-BB% \u2014 all of which rank in the bottom-10 teams.<\/p>\n
Kansas City starts LHP Noah Cameron tonight, who has regressed hard following an excellent debut campaign last year. He holds a 5.40 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and only 36 strikeouts in 41.2 IP. His record is 2-3, and outside of a 7.5% BB%, most of his metrics rank below the league average.<\/p>\n
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Mariners as -119 Moneyline favorites on the road tonight. The Royals come in with -102 odds to win outright. The run total also sits at eight combined runs between these sides.<\/p>\n