Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics Expert MLB Picks 3/21/2019

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Tokyo Dome

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Yusei Kikuchi vs. Marco Estrada

Tokyo Dome is the site of the matchup between the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, March 21, 2019. The probable starting pitchers are Yusei Kikuchi for the Mariners and Marco Estrada for the Athletics. The Mariners won Game 1 by a score of 9-7 behind a strong start from Marco Gonzalez.

Seattle opens at +118 while Oakland opens at -133. The Mariners had a 79-81-2 over/under record and a 79-83-0 run line mark last year. The Athletics were 86-77-0 against the run line and had a 80-73-10 over/under record.

Valuable Seattle Mariners Betting Trends

The Seattle Mariners were 79-81-2 against the over/under last season

The Seattle Mariners were 79-83-0 against the run line last year

Important Oakland Athletics Betting Trends

The Oakland Athletics were 80-73-10 against the over/under last season

The Oakland Athletics were 86-77-0 against the run line last year

Key Seattle Mariners Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

No key injuries to report

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Mariners had a 89-73 overall record last season. Starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi will be making his major league debut after coming over from Japan. He ended his career in Japan with a 2.77 ERA in 1,010 innings. The bullpen had an earned run average of 3.76 and they gave up 512 base hits on the year. Teams hit .240 against the bullpen and they struck out 556 hitters while walking 174 batters. As a team, Seattle allowed 8.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings. They were 17th in the league in team earned run average at 4.13. The Mariners pitchers collectively gave up 1,396 base hits and 664 earned runs last year. They allowed 195 home runs last season, ranking them 12th in the league. Seattle as a pitching staff walked 400 batters and struck out 1,328. They walked 2.5 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.3 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.24 and their FIP as a unit was 4.06.

Hitting Statistics

As a team Seattle hit .254, good for 8th in the league. The Mariners held a .408 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .314, which was good for 18th in baseball. They ranked 9th in MLB with 8.7 hits per game. Mitch Haniger hit .285 with an on-base percentage of .366 last year. He had 170 hits last season in 596 at bats with 93 runs batted in. He had a slugging percentage of .493 and an OPS+ of 138. Edwin Encarnacion hit .246 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .336. He totaled 123 hits and he drove in 107 men in 500 at bats. His OPS+ was 115 while his slugging percentage was at .474. The Mariners had 1,402 hits last season, including 256 doubles and 176 home runs. Seattle walked 430 times last year and they struck out 1,221 times as a unit. They left 1,084 men on base and had a team OPS of .722. They scored 4.18 runs per contest and scored a total of 677 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Oakland had a 97-65 overall mark last year. With an earned run average of 5.64, Marco Estrada had a 7-14 record and a 1.42 WHIP. He had 103 strikeouts over the 143.2 innings he pitched. He also gave up 154 hits. He allowed 9.6 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 5.44. The bullpen had an earned run average of 3.37 and they gave up 524 base hits on the year. Teams hit .218 against the Athletics bullpen. Their relievers struck out 627 batters and walked 234 opposing hitters. As a team, Oakland allowed 8 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.6 batters per nine innings. They were 11th in the league in team earned run average at 3.81. The Athletics pitchers as a team surrendered 1,303 base knocks and 621 earned runs last season. They gave up 184 home runs last year, which ranked 16th in Major League Baseball. Oakland as a staff walked 474 hitters and struck out 1,237 batters. They gave up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they struck out 7.6 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.21 while their FIP as a staff was 4.19.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .252, good for 12th in the league. The Athletics held a .439 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .325, which was good for 10th in baseball. They ranked 7th in MLB with 8.7 hits per contest. Marcus Semien comes into this matchup after batting .255 with an OBP of .318 last season. He had 161 hits last year along with 70 RBI in 632 AB's. He maintained a slugging percentage of .388 with an OPS+ of 94. Khris Davis hit .247 last season and he had an OBP of .326. He collected 142 hits in 576 at bats while driving in 123 runs. He had an OPS+ of 136 and a slugging percentage of .549. The Athletics as a unit had 1,407 base hits last season, including 322 doubles and 227 homers. Oakland walked 550 times last year and they struck out on 1,381 occasions. They left 1,085 men on base and had an OPS of .764. They scored 5.02 runs per game and totaled 813 runs last year.

Who will win tonight's Mariners/Athletics MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Athletics -133

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