Is there trouble brewing when the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros collide for a quick rematch on Thursday’s baseball betting slate?
Seattle Mariners vs. Houston Astros
Thursday, July 28, 2022 – 08:10 PM EDT at Minute Maid Park
Mariners Have One Last Chance
Welcome to the Last Chance Saloon in Houston where the Seattle Mariners have one final opportunity to make a statement in the American League West Division with a four-game series this weekend against the Astros.
The starting pitchers for Thursday’s series opener present a contrast in styles as Houston manager Dusty Baker is sending the compact Jose
Season Series and Rivalry Trends
Thursday’s matchup is the beginning of the last regular season series between the Astros and Mariners, and Houston just needs to win one of the four games to claim its fourth consecutive season series victory over Seattle.
The Astros have won nine of the 15 clashes this year. That gives Houston a very lopsided 45-18 edge over Seattle since the start of the 2019 campaign. The Mariners would need to sweep the Astros to claim their first season series title since 2018.
- The Astros have won four of the six games played at Minute Maid Park in 2022.
- Totals are a level 3-3 O/U in the contests between the two in Houston this season.
- Both sides start the series with pronounced ‘under’ leans in 2022, the Astros at 36-60-3 O/U/P and the Mariners 46-51-2.
M’s Pitcher Logan Gilbert
The only thing Gilbert did wrong his last time out was square off against Justin Verlander. BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review) closed Gilbert and the Mariners as +140 home underdogs last Saturday, and the righthander only allowed two runs while striking out eight in his six innings of work.
Like he has all season, Verlander simply had better stuff in helping Houston to a 3-1 win in the middle game of a sweep in Seattle. Gilbert has been outstanding overall against the Astros this year with a 2-1 record and 2.37 ERA in three assignments.
Last Saturday’s loss halted a string of five consecutive wins for Seattle with their young fireballer on the bump. He has done an exceptionally fine job on the road where Gilbert has a 2.42 ERA and the Mariners have won 10 of his 12 starts.
‘Stros Pitcher Jose Urquidy
It was Urquidy who got the ball rolling on Houston’s broom job in Seattle last weekend, picking up the 5-2 win in Friday’s series opener with six innings of 1-run baseball to help Astros backers cash as -115 chalk on the MLB odds.
That effort came after the Mariners beat Urquidy three previous times this season. Those three wins over the 27-year-old represent half of Seattle’s victory against Houston this season. Urquidy was well off his game in all three losses, tossing a combined 13 innings and allowing 15 earned runs (10.38 ERA).
This will be Urquidy’s fifth consecutive start against an AL West opponent, the second in a row versus Seattle with two more against Oakland and one against the Angels to begin the month of July.
Seattle Injury Update
The Mariners are hopeful of getting Ken Giles back within the next couple of weeks. The former Astros closer was slowed by an injured finger to begin the season and is dealing with tightness in his right shoulder that sidelined him earlier this month.
Houston Injury Update
Michael Brantley’s shoulder injury is taking longer than expected to heal up, and there is no timetable for him to start swinging a bat again. Houston did see pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. take a giant step forward with a rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Wednesday, and he could return to the Astros’ rotation within a couple of weeks.
Thursday’s Top Bet
Houston is a mild favorite at the best sportsbooks for Thursday’s series opener. Most shops are listing 8 for the scoreboard target, the same total we saw in all three games during the series at Minute Maid Park back in June.
There is pressure on both teams entering this series. Seattle knows it has to win three of four to make a serious dent in Houston’s AL West lead, and the Astros are anxious to return to the win column after getting swept in Oakland this week. My MLB pick will be on the visitors with a prop play on Gilbert recording more than 5.5 whiffs.
MLB Pick: Mariners (+125) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
