Posted on
5/13/2008 4:14:47 PM
MLB Baseball Online Betting Action - Seattle at Texas
By Charles Jay
BetUS MLB betting odds: Seattle -115, Texas -105; Total 9.5 (-110 each way)
The Seattle Mariners (15-25) are doing much less in the American League West than a lot of people, including themselves, ever imagined at the beginning of the season. On Tuesday night they are in the Lone Star State to take on the Texas Rangers (19-21), who all of sudden are surprising some AL observers. The game will get underway at 8:05 PM at the Ballpark at Arlington (natural turf). And hopefully, cooler heads will prevail (explanation below).
Right-hander Felix Hernandez (2-3, 3.42 ERA) is the starter for Seattle, while southpaw Kason Gabbard (1-0, 1.85 ERA) gets the assignment for the Rangers.
At BetUS Sportsbook, Seattle is listed as a -115 favorite (Texas is -105), with a total of 9.5 runs (both the Over and Under are -110).
Here are some of the MLB Baseball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* SEA has lost six of its last seven games
* SEA has played six of its last nine games OVER the total
* SEA has lost its last six road games
* TEX has won six of its last seven games
* TEX has won five of its last six home games
* TEX has played nine of its last 12 home games OVER the total
In the HEAD-TO-HEAD baseball betting trends:
* TEX has won the last four meetings
* TEX has won seven of the last nine meetings as the home team
* Seven of the last ten meetings have gone UNDER the total
These teams are clearly going in different directions, as Seattle has bombed, losing six of its last seven games, while Texas is quite the reverse, winning six of seven online sports betting contests. Last night was a donnybrook, as the Rangers won a 13-12 affair that was highlighted by a walk-off homer by Ramon Vasquez in the tenth inning.
The twelve runs for the M's was an anomaly, though; in ten of their last 13 games, Seattle has scored four runs or less. That's not enough to win most games, and indeed, Seattle is on a string where it has dropped eleven of those 13 ballgames.
Felix Hernandez has been getting hit rather hard lately; he's had a 7.14 ERA in his last three starts. His last outing was against the Rangers, against whom he allowed six hits, three bases on balls and four runs in five innings. Of course, he got no support from his offense, and the Mariners lost a 5-0 decision. But in Hernandez's previous four starts against Texas, he posted a very strong 1.25 ERA and 0.70 WHIP ratio.
The last time either of these pitchers started, they were involved, very intimately, in a bench-clearing brawl that began when Kason Gabbard allegedly threw at Richie Sexson, who charged the mound. That was - also allegedly - in response to Hernandez decking a Texas hitter. Gabbard is pitching well, but he had to leave that game early with leg problems and that was his first start after a tenure on the disabled list.
As we mentioned, these teams look like they are moving in drastically different directions. And to get the underdog price with Texas is appetizing, especially as they have a more consistent pitcher on the mound. We'll move with the Rangers, the -105 dog as is posted in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: TEXAS (-105)
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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)