Sport: MLBPick Selection: Texas Rangers (Wright) +119
Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers 8:35 PM ET
Texas Rangers (Wright) +119
Texas has dropped the first two games in this series as it went against two tough starters in Jeff Weaver and Felix Hernandez. That all changes here as the Mariners send their worst starter to the hill and it doesn?t bode well knowing that Seattle is 2-7 in its last nine games after allowing two runs or less in their previous game. In contrast, the Rangers are 5-1 in their last six games when their opponent allows two runs or less in their previous game. Despite the first two wins, the Mariners are 16-35 in the last 51 meetings in Texas.
Jamey Wright heads back to the rotation for a spot start here and he has been decent enough to keep Texas around. In eight starts he has allowed two runs or fewer including three of four at home with the Rangers going 4-0 in those four home starts. Wright is against the norm for Rangers starters as he is allowing the opposition to bat only .214 at home compared to .330 on the road. He has been solid since the All-Star break, posting a 2.77 ERA compared to an ERA of 5.55 prior to the break.
Horacio Ramirez is favored in this game and for no apparent good reason. Yes he has won his last two road starts but has put up an 8.03 ERA in the process. He has been so bad on the road that those last two outings actually brought his road ERA down as it now at 11.57 on the year. In seven road starts, he has yet to post a quality outing and one of those games came at Texas last month where he allowed eight runs in just 4.2 innings of work. The Mariners are 2-5 in Ramirez's seven road starts.
The lack of quality performances from Ramirez put the Rangers into a great situation and we get an underdog price on top of it. Play on American League home teams with a team batting average of .260 or worse on the season going up against an opponent with a starting pitcher whose ERA is 7.00 or worse over his last three starts. This situation is 112-63 against the moneyline (64 percent) over the last five seasons. The average line posted in those games was -110 so the value is definitely on our side here. Play Texas Rangers 2.5 Units
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