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• Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays
• Thursday, Sept. 7 at 6:40 PM ET
• Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, Florida
This is the kind of showdown that people would love to see in the Major League Baseball postseason. Two of the best teams in the American League of late have no question been the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays. These two clubs are poised to head to the playoffs this fall. Before the regular season closes, though, they’ll meet for what should be a fun three-game set. With that said, the Rays are expected to take down the Mariners in Thursday’s series opener.
This series will be played in Florida at the Rays stadium. This already gives them an early advantage, as the Mariners have been struggling a bit on the road of late. After losing a series to the Mets, Seattle traveled to Cincinnati for a series with the Reds. On Monday, Cincinnati dominated and handed Seattle a surprising loss. After playing so well in August, things haven’t quite gone according to plan for the Mariners in September.
| Mariners vs. Rays odds |  |  |  |  |
| Rays 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 |
As for the Rays, Tampa Bay really has been fantastic this year and a lot of fans are dreaming of them getting to the World Series. Thus far this campaign, the AL East powerhouse is 83-55 on the year. The Rays are pushing for a division title, as they’re 3.5 games back of Baltimore. With a strong showing against the Mariners this week, it could really help them potentially leap Baltimore in the standings.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Rays hold -115 MLB betting odds to beat Seattle on Thursday. The Mariners are the underdogs in this one, holding +125 MLB betting odds. This could end up being a close game and while it wouldn’t be a stunner to see the Mariners come away with a victory, we’re going to have to go with the Rays as our pick.
🚨 Aaron Civale has a new career high with 12 Ks 🚨 pic.twitter.com/4hjRt4s2X9
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 4, 2023
The over should hit between the Mariners and Rays on Thursday
With how great these offenses are, the over should hit between the Mariners and Rays on Thursday. While the Mariners have struggled a bit this week, we can’t forget how sensational they were in August. Seattle won a club-record 21 games last month, which was simply unreal. Julio Rodriguez was brilliant for the AL West side, really catching fire. Time and time again, he came up with some big hits for his team.
“What we’re watching, really, it’s historical,” Servais said of the insane numbers that J-Rod was able to put together for the Mariners. “It’s crazy to say that for a player that is that young, but to do what he is doing and for the span he’s done it for now … that’s ridiculous.”
Julio Rodríguez just made history!
He is the first player in AL/NL history to reach 25+ home runs & 25+ stolen bases in each of their first 2 seasons. pic.twitter.com/Yc1ymXmvjo
— MLB (@MLB) September 4, 2023
In addition to J-Rod playing so well, Mariners fans were also quite happy to see Teoscar Hernandez hit several long homers for the squad. Hernandez has really been stepping up his game, which is needed for the middle of the lineup. If the slugger can stay hot with the postseason around the corner, it’s going to be a massive help for the Mariners. Servais has also been quite happy with his strong play and it’s easy to understand why.
The Rays also have a fantastic lineup – they’ll be ready to score plenty of runs in this one. While the pitching matchups haven’t been revealed yet, we still think this will be a high-scoring affair. According to the oddsmakers, the over/under has been set at 6.5 runs, with -110 MLB betting odds for both. We think these two teams will have no issues combining for at least seven runs. We’re going with the over as our pick.
The Rays hold strong World Series betting odds
With how great they’ve looked, the Rays hold strong World Series betting odds right now. This shouldn’t come as a major surprise, as they’re not only strong with their hitting, but their pitching staff has been splendid too. It’s all going to come down to how this team can perform once the playoffs get here. Even if the Rays don’t win the division, they’ll still grab an AL Wild Card spot.
Once they look in the playoffs, anything can happen. With all of their experience too, Tampa Bay will surely be a team to watch moving forward. Per the oddsmakers, the Rays hold +1200 World Series betting odds. They’re behind the Braves, Dodgers, Astros and more.
On paper, the Braves are the favorites to win it all and it’s hard to argue with that. Atlanta has been the hottest team in the bigs from start to finish in ’23. However, there are always some surprises in the playoffs. Will Tampa Bay be an underdog to come away with the Fall Classic title? People all over Florida are hoping that will turn out to be the case for them down the road. Tampa Bay has all the tools needed to make this a year to remember for their fanbase. We’ll see how things shape out here.
