The Twins are -115 neighborhood vs. the Mariners, and I like the favorite.
From the team standpoint, the Mariners have really struggled vs. lefties. They're hitting just .233 against southpaws, and that's pretty bad. Fact is, they have five guys who have been all but automatic outs against lefties. Sexson, Beltre, Ibanez, Everett and Betancourt are a combined 39/229 (.170). Needless to say, the Mariners record n these games is pretty bad.
The Twins are also not good vs. lefties, but they're fine vs. righties, so offensively they definitely figure to be the better squad in this game.
Also, we have a a team playing at home off a loss in which they allowed double figure runs. This has been a good bounceback situation so far, with these teams standing 32-21 overall.
Then there's the King Felix factor. This guy has incredible stuff, but he's a mess right now and the Mariners can't seem to figure out why. One week there's a rumor that he's tipping his pitches, the next week it's supposedly his mechanics, or that he's simply trying to strike out everyone. Last game, he was getting by and then twisted his ankle and fell apart.
I'm not a pitching coach, so I don't know what the issue is. What I do know is that on the road this season, he's got an 8.68 ERA, a 2.41 WHIP and the opposition has a .393 batting avg. vs. Hernandez. Those are some staggering numbers.
I'm confident that Hernandez will get things going at some point, but right now he's fade material, especially since he's generally overpriced, as would seem to be the case here.
So I'll lay the very reasonable price with the Twins and hope that Gardenhire doesn't bring Jesse Crain into the game to blow the lead late. (Those of you who backed Boof Bonser at a big price in his debut last Sunday will get that reference.)
From the team standpoint, the Mariners have really struggled vs. lefties. They're hitting just .233 against southpaws, and that's pretty bad. Fact is, they have five guys who have been all but automatic outs against lefties. Sexson, Beltre, Ibanez, Everett and Betancourt are a combined 39/229 (.170). Needless to say, the Mariners record n these games is pretty bad.
The Twins are also not good vs. lefties, but they're fine vs. righties, so offensively they definitely figure to be the better squad in this game.
Also, we have a a team playing at home off a loss in which they allowed double figure runs. This has been a good bounceback situation so far, with these teams standing 32-21 overall.
Then there's the King Felix factor. This guy has incredible stuff, but he's a mess right now and the Mariners can't seem to figure out why. One week there's a rumor that he's tipping his pitches, the next week it's supposedly his mechanics, or that he's simply trying to strike out everyone. Last game, he was getting by and then twisted his ankle and fell apart.
I'm not a pitching coach, so I don't know what the issue is. What I do know is that on the road this season, he's got an 8.68 ERA, a 2.41 WHIP and the opposition has a .393 batting avg. vs. Hernandez. Those are some staggering numbers.
I'm confident that Hernandez will get things going at some point, but right now he's fade material, especially since he's generally overpriced, as would seem to be the case here.
So I'll lay the very reasonable price with the Twins and hope that Gardenhire doesn't bring Jesse Crain into the game to blow the lead late. (Those of you who backed Boof Bonser at a big price in his debut last Sunday will get that reference.)
