RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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I consider it a good sign for the coming week when there's a random MLB matinee on a Monday, and that's the case today as Seattle visits Texas to complete their four-game AL West series. I don't expect a ton of runs with two nasty right-handers on the mound in George Kirby and Kumar Rocker .
It's a 2:35 ET first pitch from Globe Life Field, so there are no weather concerns. There are plenty of MLB betting options on the game, and putting them together in an MLB parlay can add to your profits.
This definitely could have division/playoff tiebreaker ramifications down the line with Texas (53-52) atop the AL West by 1.5 games over Seattle (52-54), and Houston (52-55) very much in the mix too. You'd imagine all three clubs would be buyers ahead of the trade deadline. The Mariners are what they pretty much always are: Good pitching, can't hit much.
In fact, they fired assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes over the weekend. Not exactly sure what firing the assistant hitting coach accomplishes? "Our offense," Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry DiPoto said on Saturday in discussing the move, "has been abysmal for two months."
Manager Dan Wilson lobbied against the move, so might there be tension there? Yet director of hitting strategy Edgar Martinez and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer both stayed. Kinda curious, although Edgar is a franchise icon.
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Thus, they are willing to trade one of their six starting pitchers -- most likely Luis Castillo or Emerson Hancock – for lineup or bullpen help. The franchise also has two of the game's top three pitching prospects in lefty Kade Anderson and righty Ryan Sloan . Seattle especially needs a right-handed bat as the club ranks dead last in the majors with a .640 OPS vs. southpaws. The team is 28th in batting average overall at .231 and 28th in runs scored (426). The M's did put up six runs Sunday -- although they had just one entering the seventh inning -- to end a four-game slide.
Getting former All-Star infielder Brendan Donovan back from the injured list would certainly help, it just won't apparently be tonight. The team's Opening Day third baseman and leadoff hitter has been out since May 16. It's Donovan's second stint on the IL this season because of a groin strain and the effects of October sports hernia surgery. Donovan was one of Seattle's big offseason trade additions, but has been limited to 25 games.
Big righty George Kirby (8-8, 3.57 ERA) is on the mound for the M's. He is working on a string of six straight quality starts (at least six innings pitched and not more than three earned allowed), with the Mariners 3-3 in those six with Kirby often not getting much run support. He only gets 3.39 per game, and thus you would be down $339 if you wagered $100 on each of Kirby's 19 starts for Seattle to win.
Kirby is 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA in two starts this season vs. the Rangers with nine strikeouts and a .250 opponents' batting average in 13.0 innings. The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts him at 6.3 innings, 5.3 strikeouts, 5.1 hits allowed and 2.2 earned runs.
Texas infielder Ezequiel Duran is a career .255 hitter in the Show but rakes against Kirby at 10-for-19, although just one extra-base hit. Perhaps Rangers outfielder and leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo gets the game off considering he's 1-for-14 vs. Kirby.
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Right-hander Kumar Rocker (3-8, 4.13) takes the hill and the 26-year-old has yet to live up to the hype that accompanied him as the third overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. Remember, he was the No. 10 pick in 2021 by the Mets out of Vanderbilt but didn't sign in part due to shoulder issues, went and played independent league ball and then entered the next year's draft.
This marks Rocker's first start this season vs. the Mariners, and he is 0-2 with a 5.14 ERA in three starts against them overall. The model has Rocker at 4.8 innings, 4.5 Ks, 4.1 hits allowed and 2.0 earned runs. Cal Raleigh , having a massively disappointing year by not even hitting remotely close to the Mendoza Line at .165 after his historic '25 campaign, is 3-for-8 off Rocker with a homer and double. I think Rocker will fare OK today against that meh lineup in a getaway game.
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Seattle used its high-leverage relievers in Sunday's win and the Rangers didn't use theirs, so that's a small advantage. One of the two might score a run in the first inning but doubt both do. The model has Mariners 4.3-3.8. Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter .
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