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Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners Picks & Predictions

Written April 23, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz

rays-mariners-predictions-042309 Tampa Bay is coming off a win yesterday against Seattle, which ended their three-game losing streak. They got a solid start from Jeff Niemann, who went 5.1 innings allowing only 2 runs on 3 hits. Evan Longoria continued his hot start to the season with a three hit game, while Carlos Pena posted a two RBI double as well. I stated in an article about four days back how it is early and not yet time to start panicking in regards to the AL East race. I completely retract that statement. The Red Sox are fantastic while the Yankees will also be a serious threat as the year goes on. Toronto also won yesterday and they are 11-5 on the year. Tampa must keep pace as every game will be crucial, which includes tonight’s showdown between two of the top 20 pitchers in baseball. Some would say Scott Kazmir is the ace of this staff, but those some would be wrong. Tonight, the Rays send their ace, James Shields to the mound. The hard-throwing righty is 2-1 in his first three starts while posting a 4.58 ERA, which you can bank on being lowered by the end of this game. Last year Shields had one start against Seattle, winning that game. He went 6.2 innings allowing 3 runs on 9 hits. Longoria has been phenomenal, an MVP like start while the big stud right behind him, Carlos Pena has been just as productive from a power standpoint. Now, this is the part of the article where I usually pin point my x-factor of the game. No hitter tonight will have a break out game as I expect pitching to dominate. The Rays would love to take this game with Shields going and the Yanks, Red Sox and Jays continuing to win. If you like an old fashion pitchers duel with good fielding and pristine power from the mound, make sure to catch this game. According to Thursday’s MLB lines, the Mariners are -115 against the Rays.

The Mariners take the field tonight in the rubber game against the defending American League Champion Rays. Last night Seattle sent rookie Chris Jakubauskas to the mound, which resulted in an utter disaster. He lasted only 3.1 innings while giving up 6 runs on 10 hits while also walking 3 batters. He had no control, command or location and might need some time off to work out those kinks and improve. Seattle is 9-6 on the season. I have made it very clear how I feel about this team. The fact they have nine wins in their first 15 games amazes me. This is a ball club that does nothing above average with the exception of fielding percentage. So, perhaps the downfall will start later then expected, because tonight they send Felix Hernandez to the mound, who has pitched very well to start the year. In his first three starts, Felix The Cat has gone 2-0 with a 4.26 ERA and has struck out 20 batters in 19 innings of work. In reference to their lineup, Adrian Beltre has been awful, Griffey looks like an old man and Jose Lopez has done nothing all year with the exception of his home run last night. If Ichiro doesn’t get on base, then their is no way the M’s will score enough runs to win tonight’s game. What I do know is that the side is too risky of a play with two aces on the mound. The O/U is set at 7.5 Runs. Picks and notes below.

Haimo’s Hot Notes: Tampa Bay is 2-6 in their last eight games as an underdog. The Rays are 3-8 in their last 11 road games. The OVER is 8-1 in Seattle over the past nine games when the Mariners are the favorite. Seattle is also 8-3 in their last 11 games overall. I suggest you do what I did when you read these trends. Grunt, shrug your shoulders and say “Ha, yeah right”. The Rays lineup has been a disappointment overall while the Mariners are a putrid hitting team with just about no power. Both aces are going and they will pitch very well. Take the UNDER my friends.

Jordan’s Pick: Tampa Bay Rays/Seattle Mariners UNDER 7.5 Runs

Documented MLB Record:

25-11 OVERALL

9-3 BEST BET (Last nights BEST BET was a hit with Tigers +100)

A great bounce back night as we hit three of four including our BEST BET UNDERDOG SPECIAL. The Braves vs Nats game was nothing short of right on the money as both starters were superb as stated and both lineups struggled as predicted they would. The Tigers came through with a big offensive explosion just as I figured with my predicted x-factor Magglio Ordonez going 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs. Our one loss came in the weakest pick of the night which was the UNDER 8.5 Runs in the Tigers/Angels game. Nonetheless, tonight is a new night and I feel great about the picks. I hope everybody cashed in on last nights profit, if not, let’s get cracking with Thursday night’s games.

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1 Comment

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One Response to “Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners Picks & Predictions”

Gary S on April 23rd, 2009 5:58 pm

Glad to see your on this, Im already on it.

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