SEATTLE MARINERS @ TAMPA BAY RAYS
Baseball : North America : MLB
Sunday, August 21st, 2011, 1:40PM US
(6:40PM GMT)

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PREVIEW

Seattle have failed to score much throughout this season and have been poor in this series too. The Mariners are the worst team in the MLB in terms of runs scored, and today they face a pitcher who has thrown 9 complete games.

The Seattle Mariners go with Michael Pineda, who is 9-7 with a 3.77 ERA. In his last start, Pineda got hit for homers in 3 different innings and walked 4 batters in 5 innings. The only reason he won was because the Seattle offence managed some runs, which is a rarity. That won't be easy today, away from home against an excellent pitcher.

Pinedas decent overall record is due to his home form, where he is 5-2 with a 2.86ERA. Away from home, he has a 4-5 mark with a 4.50ERA. I think we will see a performance more in line with that, especially against the Rays, who can hit.

The Tampa Bay Rays go with James Shields, who is 11-10 with an excellent 2.83ERA. In his last 3 starts, Shields is 2-1 with a 1.48ERA and opposing batters are hitting just .148 against him. His home form shows an ERA of 2.14.

Almost 3 months ago, Shields faced the Seattle Mariners and got hammered for 8 runs, 7 of them earned, and duly took the loss. This is a classic revenge spot and I would expect him to pitch like this is the World Series.

Seattle have lost 4 straight games, while Tampa are on a 4 game winning streak. The Rays have won 6 straight games at home too, and 9 of their last 11. These teams will be on 2 different levels given the situation. The price isn't huge but it's still value.

TEAM STATS

Seattle Mariners
Overall 53-71, Streak L4

Tampa Bay Rays
Overall 68-56, Streak W4

BETTING VERDICT

I'm going with the Tampa Bay Rays to win this evening.

The Pick :

Tampa Bay Rays

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take the Tampa Bay Rays to win @ 1.52 (Pinnacle)