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• Seattle Mariners vs. St. Louis Cardinals
• Friday, April 21 at 10:00 PM ET
• T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington
There’s an interesting interleague matchup coming later this week, as the Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals are ready for quite the series to take place. Unfortunately for both of these clubs, they haven’t had the starts that their fans were hoping for. Despite that, both teams are hoping to make a splash in the coming days. With that said, the Mariners are hoping to upset the Cardinals on Friday night.
Seattle is coming off a bit of a rough series vs. the Milwaukee Brewers, another NL Central team, letting some games slip late. This was disappointing to see for manager Scott Servais and Co. However, no one can argue that the Mariners have a ton of talent on offense. Julio Rodriguez, Ty France and Cal Raleigh headline the offense, while Luis Castillo is one of the best pitchers in the American League.
| Mariners vs. Cards odds |  |  |  |  |
| Cards to win | -115 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
| Mariners to win | +125 | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
This is all important because the Mariners will need to be at their best to take down the Cardinals. In Friday’s matchup, plenty of eyes are going to be on Seattle starting pitcher George Kirby. While he’s not at the level of Castillo, Kirby is 1-1 on the year with a 3.78 ERA. He also had 12 strikeouts to his name. He’s going to want to do everything possible to try and silence the St. Louis bats in front of the hometown fans.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Cardinals hold -115 MLB betting odds in this one, with the Mariners set at +125. Normally we would go with St. Louis, but this team has been quite shaky to start the new campaign and their fans are a bit worried. With Seattle’s potential, we think an upset indeed is on the way. We’re going with the Mariners as our pick.
That'll work! Ty game! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ova77T6Tim
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 19, 2023
The over should hit between the Mariners and Cardinals on Friday
It goes without saying, but the over should hit between the Mariners and Cardinals on Friday when they meet. While Kirby will hope to be at his best, St. Louis will be starting Steven Matz in this one. Matz, normally a reliable left-handed starter, has been terrible this season. Thus far in 2023, Matz has an 0-2 record and a 6.48 ERA. Those are not the numbers that anyone expected from him.
What’s going to make things even more difficult for Matz is that the Seattle sluggers indeed have a ton of talent. And with this game being played at T-Mobile Park, they’re only going to be even more motivated to post some big hits. With Rodriguez, he’s one of the most exciting young players in the game. The same can be said for France and Raleigh, who will be ready to help their team win on Friday night.
3rd HR for Julio Rodriguez on the year 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DrihCMQwGK
— Seattle Mariners ON Tap (@MarinersONtap) April 18, 2023
“I think people sometimes get so lost trying to get more and more and more,” Rodriguez said recently on what Seattle means to him. “And that’s not to say I don’t want to get better, or help the team get to late October baseball — that’s my biggest goal. But, man, when you find something good? Something you love? Hold on to it. Don’t let it go. And I love Seattle. It’s home. I feel embraced here, and I know how this city treats people who give their all.”
Meanwhile for St. Louis, Paul Goldschmidt and Co. will be ready to try and record plenty of runs in this one as well. Per the oddsmakers, the over/under has been set at 6.5 runs. From our chair, we feel like it would be a bit of a surprise for these clubs to not post at least seven runs. All signs are pointing to that happening, which is why we’re going with the over as our pick for this contest.
The Cardinals remain in the hunt to win the NL Central
Although St. Louis has had a rough start to the 2023 campaign, the Cardinals remain in the hunt to win the NL Central this year. Don’t let their rough record fool you, folks, St. Louis is still the real deal and they’ll be ready to push for a division title later this year, as they hold +200 MLB betting odds to capture the glory.
Both with starting pitching and offensive power, the Cardinals are stacked. That’s why the poor start to the new season has been so worrying. However, this shouldn’t last long. What’s going to be important for the Cardinals is that they stay healthy once the heart of the campaign does arrive. There are surely going to be some massive NL Central games on the way for them.
On paper, this feels like it’s going to be a battle between the Brewers and the Cardinals for the division title. The Cubs are a solid team too, but they’re still early on in their rebuild. Milwaukee is fantastic, but the Cardinals will give them everything they can handle in the coming months. We wouldn’t be shocked if the Cardinals end up winning the NL Central this year.
