Seattle Mariners vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction & Betting Tips - MLB

Prediction published on 30/06/2023, 10:58  by Joseph King | Modified on 30/06/2023 at 10:58 in MLB Predictions

The AL West’s fourth-place Seattle Mariners host the AL East’s first-place Tampa Bay Rays for the first of a three game series. A recent losing run means that the Mariners have lost some ground in the Wild Card race. Seattle has lost their last two in a row and four of their last five to put them 5.5 games behind the Blue Jays for the final playoff spot. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, enjoys a comfortable 5.5 game lead atop baseball’s toughest division in the AL East. The Rays have the best record in the Majors with 56 wins from their 84 games, giving them a winning percentage of .667.

Seattle’s last outing resulted in a 4-1 home loss to the Nationals, ultimately resigning them to a 2-1 series loss. It’s also the third straight series that the Mariners have lost with the other two coming against the Orioles and the Yankees. They’ll hope for an improved performance now that they are back at T-Mobile Park where they are three games above .500 on the year. Seattle will send out rookie Bryce Miller to make the start who is 5-3 on the year and is sporting a 3.88 ERA. Miller’s last start saw him struggle with his control, lasting four and a third innings while giving up three earned runs, a home run and walking three batters. The walks have become a trend for the 24-year-old in recent starts as he has now racked up eight walks in his last four outings.

The Rays have been rolling this season and will have their stand out pitcher Shane McClanahan on the mound. McClanahan is 11-1 on the year with a stellar 2.23 ERA. The 26-year-old lasted only three and two thirds innings in his last start where he gave up two earned runs on four hits. Only once in his last seven starts has McClanahan given up more than two earned runs, a stretch which totals 43 innings of work. He’s likely to get a good bit of run support in this one as well as the Rays’ bats rank second in the MLB in terms of runs scored per game at 5.52. Tampa Bay is coming off a 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks in their last outing, their second win in a row and giving them the series win 2-1.