The St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners, both playoff contenders experiencing slow starts this season, face off in the first game of a three-game inter-league series in Seattle on Friday night. The Mariners will have young pitcher George Kirby on the mound, while the Cardinals will be represented by veteran lefty Steven Matz.
Let’s dive into our free baseball betting pick for this game.
MLB Betting Odds
The betting lines for Friday’s game opened with Seattle at around -130 over St. Louis, accompanied by an over/under of 8.5 runs. Early betting action saw the Mariners’ odds slide to -120 and the total to 8.
Cardinals-Mariners Betting Preview
The Cardinals recently lost two of three games at home against Arizona but managed to dodge a sweep by winning the series finale 14-5 on Wednesday. After a day off on Thursday, they now travel to Seattle.
Prior to the Arizona series, St. Louis had split four games with Pittsburgh and secured two of three games in Colorado. This puts the Cardinals at 1-1-1 over their last three series and 5-4 in their last nine games.
On the other hand, the Mariners were recently swept in a three-game home series by Milwaukee, losing the final game 5-3 on Wednesday. They, too, had Thursday off.
Before facing Milwaukee, Seattle had swept a three-game series against the Rockies but lost two of three games against the Cubs. The Mariners stand at 1-2 in their last three series and 4-6 in their last 10 games.
The last time these teams faced each other was in 2019, when the Cardinals took two of three games in Seattle.
Friday’s Pitching Match-Up
Sophomore pitcher Kirby has had back-to-back quality starts. Twelve days ago, he allowed just one run in six innings against Cleveland, only to have his bullpen lose the game 7-6. Last Saturday, he held the Rockies to two runs and six hits over 6 1/3 innings, resulting in a 9-2 Mariners victory.
Although Seattle is 1-2 with Kirby this season, they should be 2-1.
Last year, the Mariners had a 16-9 record with Kirby.
This will be Kirby’s first career start against the Cardinals.
Matz, on the other hand, has yet to deliver a quality start this year, having not pitched a full six innings. Last Saturday, he limited the Pirates to two runs and three hits over 5 2/3 innings. However, his bullpen failed him, leading to a 6-3 Cardinals loss. In his two previous starts, he allowed 10 runs and 19 hits over 11 innings, resulting in two Cardinals defeats.
St. Louis is 0-3 with Matz this season, and that’s an accurate reflection of their performance.
In his two career starts against Seattle, both in 2021 while with Toronto, Matz conceded five runs (four earned) and eight hits over 7 2/3 innings.
Splits With the Sticks
The Cardinals are batting .264 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .347 team OBP and a .414 team slugging percentage. These numbers place their lineup among the top six or seven in Baseball in this split.
In contrast, the Mariners have a .194/.259/.354 slash line against left-handed pitching, placing their lineup among the bottom six or so in Baseball in this split.
The Bullpens
The Seattle bullpen, which was one of the best in Baseball last season, currently holds a 3.42 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, and a 1.83 K/BB ratio.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ bullpen boasts a 3.33 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and a 3.36 K/BB ratio.
MLB Betting Trends
St. Louis has a 5-10 record against right-handed starters this season and is 1-4 as an underdog.
Seattle holds a 2-3 record against left-handed starters.
Totals Report
- The unders are 10-8 in Cardinals games this season.
- The overs are 10-9 in Mariners games.
- The overs are 7-6 at T-Mobile Park this season.
