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• Seattle Mariners vs. Kansas City Royals
• Thursday, August 17 at 8PM ET
• Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
Since the start of the second half of the Major League Baseball season, has there been a squad on more fire than the Seattle Mariners? Just about a couple of weeks ago, the Mariners fans were calling out general manager Jerry DiPoto for what appeared to be a lost season. However, things have changed with Seattle on a roll. Now this upcoming week, a series with Kansas City is on the way. With that said, the Mariners are favored to beat the Royals in a Thursday battle.
This will be the finale of a four-game series and the Mariners are surely going to want to play well before heading to Houston for a series with the Astros. This Royals stretch comes after a tough series at home against the Baltimore Orioles as well. For Seattle, they’re back in the hunt for an AL Wild Card spot and the club’s supporters think that a return trip to the postseason could be on the way for them.
| Mariners vs. Royals odds |  |  |  |  |
| Mariners to win | -115 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
| Royals to win | +125 | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
In order for that to happen, then the Mariners will need to take advantage of games against weaker opponents. That’s what’s going to happen when they take on the Royals, as they’re in the middle of a nightmare season. On the year, Kansas City is 37-80. The KC supporters were hopeful that a strong season would be recorded, but that could not be further from the truth in this case.
Look for Seattle to make a splash throughout the week. According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Mariners hold -115 MLB betting odds to post a win here. As for Kansas City, the home team, they have been given +125 odds for a win. Kansas City could be in for a long showdown. With all of that said, we’re going with Seattle as our pick to post a win.
🔥 Los Bomberos 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ntkAwOZ19N
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 11, 2023
The over should hit between the Mariners and Royals
While the starting pitchers haven’t been revealed for these two sides yet, the over should hit between the Mariners and Royals on Thursday night. Regardless of how Kansas City sends out to the bump for the start, they figure to have a tough time trying to contain this Seattle lineup. While the Mariners struggled quite a bit to get going on offense early on in the year, that’s no longer the case.
Guys like Cal Raleigh, Ty France, Julio Rodriguez and others have really stepped up for this unit, which has been a lot of fun to see. As for Raleigh, he has come up with some big-time homers for the team in recent weeks. Raleigh is still remembered for his epic HR to send the Mariners to the playoffs last year. From our chair, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see him hit a homer or two against the Royals.
Cal Raleigh gets ALL of this one.
4⃣5⃣0⃣ feet. pic.twitter.com/ebw8cfiecJ
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) August 10, 2023
As for Rodriguez, he struggled to start the year too, but he keeps on turning heads with his strong plays on offense and defense. He robbed Fernando Tatis Jr. of a homer last week in Seattle, with it being one of the top defensive plays of the season for the AL West side. J-Rod will hope to be electric against the Royals as well. All in all, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Thursday’s game reach double digits.
Per the oddsmakers, the over/under has been set at 6.5 runs. The Mariners will try and keep the KC bats quiet too, but the local fans will hope to make an impact on the Seattle hurler. While we expect the Mariners to win this contest, we think that the Royals will also put up some runs on the board. Because of this, at least seven runs should be scored in this one. We’re going with the over.
The Mariners postseason odds have skyrocketed in recent weeks
Because of their fantastic play, the Mariners postseason odds have skyrocketed in recent weeks. The Mariners have a young and exciting starting rotation, highlighted by Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and more. While there has been plenty of moving around for manager Scott Servais, it looks like he finally has a core of starters that he feels comfortable with. This is only going to help the club moving forward, especially with the end of the season inching closer. Seattle is feeling good right now.
Once September rolls around, Seattle will look to take things to a new level. They’re hoping to do their best to try and leapfrog the Blue Jays in the Wild Card standings, which they’ve got a great chance to do. As things stand, the Mariners hold +150 MLB betting odds to sneak into the playoffs. A month ago, we would have said that there was no way they’d get this job done. However, things have changed and Seattle is playing tremendously. This team is built right now to make it a year to remember.
