Game: Minnesota Twins @ Seattle Mariners
Time: 9:40 p.m.
Odds: Twins +115, Mariners -125
Total: 7
Sonny Gray has experienced a significant week recently. He participated in his third All-Star Game last Tuesday in Seattle. He will start the first game of a four-game series against the host Mariners tonight as the Minnesota Twins, who are currently leading the American League Central, have won three straight games. Additionally, he will be fully vested in the MLB pension program on Tuesday when he completes his ten years of major league service.
Gray (4-3, 2.89 ERA) is coming off his worst start of the year, a 6-2 loss to Baltimore on the road in which he gave up six runs on six hits over the course of six innings. However, in 14 starts against the Mariners in his career, the right-hander is 5-3 with a 2.73 ERA.
Alex Kirilloff hit a solo home run, a three-run double, and Christian Vazquez also homered as the Twins defeated the Oakland Athletics 5-4 on Sunday. Minnesota is 48-46 and now holds a 2.5-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central.
Prior to defeating visiting Detroit 2-0 on Sunday, the Mariners lost their first two games to the Tigers following the break. Rookie Bryce Miller pitched five scoreless innings in his injury-recovery game (blister on right middle finger), and Cal Raleigh hit a home run. With the win, the Mariners returned to .500 and closed the gap on the third and final AL wild-card spot to five games.
Seattle is scheduled to start right-hander Logan Gilbert (7-5, 3.66) on Monday. Gilbert is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA in two prior starts against the Twins. He has been pitching extremely well as of late, allowing just one earned run over 16 innings in his final two starts before the break.
Paul Sewald, the Mariners’ closer, who recorded his 18th save on Sunday, said he and his teammates are aware that they must act quickly to prevent being traded at the trade deadline. With the Mariners still in the hunt for an AL wild card, being sold off to build for the future becomes less likely.
The Twins are 8-4 SU in their last 12 games. They have been playing well on the road too, going 5-1 SU in their last six away games. Minnesota has also done well against Seattle winning four of the past five games with the Mariners.
Seattle is also 8-4 SU in its last 12 games. With Gray and Gilbert as the projected starters, tonight’s total is set at 7. The Under has cashed a winning ticket in six of the last seven Twins-Mariners games. The Under has also been the play in four of the last six Twins-Mariners games played in Seattle.
All three of Gilbert’s last three starts have resulted in the Under. The Under is 2-0-1 in Gray’s last three starts. Five of those combined six starts between these two pitchers produced totals of less than 7.
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