The Boston Red Sox take on the Seattle Mariners. Check out our MLB odds series for our Red Sox Mariners prediction and pick. Michael Wacha takes the bump for the Red Sox, while George Kirby gets the assignment for the Mariners.
Michael Wacha is back. The elite version of the pitcher who once had a star turn with the St. Louis Cardinals several years ago has returned. This is the best iteration of Wacha, who has a 1.99 ERA and just pitched a complete-game shutout of the Angels on Monday night. Wacha has made nine starts this season and given up more than two runs in only one of them. Wacha has a classic pitcher’s body, very lean and tall with long arms. He is able to hide his release point from hitters and get substantial arm whip to manipulate the ball and increase the biting and running actions on his pitches. He is a great reason to take Boston in a Red Sox Mariners prediction which incorporates the existing MLB odds.
George Kirby has a 3.38. The first-year big-league pitcher has started six games split into two distinct halves. In three of his six starts, Kirby has given up 12 runs in 14 innings. In his other three starts, Kirby has given up two runs in 18 innings pitched. He shows a lot of promise in Seattle, but it’s worth noting that Boston touched him up for five runs in five innings on May 19 in Fenway Park. It’s true that Seattle has a much more pitcher-friendly park than Fenway, but it’s also true that the Red Sox are locked in at the plate right now. Kirby is a fascinating part of a Red Sox Mariners pick.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Red Sox-Mariners MLB odds.
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The Red Sox are playing great baseball. Their April struggles are a distant memory. Good teams will still struggle at some point in a 162-game season. The Red Sox overcame their worst period of 2022. It is doubtful they will struggle to the same extent at any future point this season. They’ll have some rough patches, but nothing could compare to their complete face-plant in April.
Michael Wacha is locked in as a pitcher. He can handcuff the Mariners and win this game for Boston.
After their own horrendous period of play — a 25-game stretch in which they went 6-19 — the Mariners have, like Boston, rebounded and played a lot better, looking like the team most baseball experts expected to see in 2022. The Mariners started the season 11-6. The team which has won each of its last three series has recaptured that level of form. Now that this team is back on track, it will become much tougher to beat — for the Red Sox and everyone else in the American League. The Mariners just won a series in Houston against the defending American League champion Astros. They’re a restored team right now.
Michael Wacha is so dialed in that it’s hard to pick against him. The Mariners are playing better, but Wacha is pitching like a stopper at the moment, and that’s a convincing reason to take the Red Sox.
Final Red Sox-Mariners Prediction & Pick: Red Sox +1.5
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