The Texas Rangers (66-88) are on the road to face the Seattle Mariners (84-70) at T-Mobile Park on Thursday with the three-game series tied at 1-1. The Mariners leveled the series 1-1 after winning 3-1 on Wednesday, their 13th head-to-head victory in 18 games this season. George Kirby went six innings for the win, giving up one run on five hits, and Paul Sewald earned his 20th save with a scoreless ninth. Eugenio Suarez went 3 for 3 with a double and one RBI in the win. Nathaniel Lowe was 2 for 4 with a double and one run for the Rangers.
ON THE MOUND
Jon Gray (7-7, 3.64 ERA) is in line to get the start for Texas. The right-hander allowed one run (zero earned) over five innings in his last start, a 6-3 road defeat against the Guardians on Friday. He scattered one hit while striking out one and walking one in the no-decision. Over two previous starts against the Mariners this season, Gray has allowed eight earned runs over 11.1 innings (0-2, 6.35). He has struck out 12 and walked five. For Seattle, lefty Marco Gonzales (10-15, 4.05 ERA) will toe the rubber. He has made five appearances against the Rangers this season, all starts, giving up 21 runs (17 ER) over 29.2 innings (1-2, 5.16) with 22 strikeouts and five walks. In his last start on Friday, Gonzales took the loss on the road against the Royals. He threw five innings and gave up four runs (3 ER) on eight hits, striking out two, in the 5-1 defeat.
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, Texas has averaged only 3.0 runs a game, down from their season average of 4.4, while performing worse across the board (.209/.263/.307). Against lefties like Gonzales this season, the Rangers have a .755 OPS. Lowe is the team’s most potent producer against left-handers with a .945 OPS in 180 at-bats. Seattle is averaging 4.4 runs per game in the last five, up slightly from 4.2 for the season. The M’s have a .699 OPS against righties in 2022. With a .855 OPS over 383 at-bats, Julio Rodriguez has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Texas is 34-43 away from Globe Life Field in 2022, scoring 4.5 runs per game while allowing 4.2 runs. Seattle has gone 40-33 in front of their home fans this season, averaging 3.8 runs per game while surrendering 3.5. Seattle is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings at T-Mobile Park with an average scoreline of 3.7-2.9.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Rangers are fourth in the AL West, 35 games behind the division-leading Astros. The Mariners are second in the AL West, 17 games behind the Astros. They currently occupy one of the Wild Card spots, sitting third with a magic number of zero.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Seattle Mariners (-125)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
