Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays | Odds, Preview, & Prediction | Thursday, May 5th 

Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays: Who comes out on top in Seattle?

The Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays begin this new series tonight in Seattle. The Rays just swept the Athletics in Oakland, and the Mariners were swept by the Astros in their most recent series. Clearly, these two teams are on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of momentum. The Mariners and Rays have already faced off in a three-game series, seeing the Rays win two out of the three games at home against Seattle.

Below, you will find a brief preview of each team followed by a prediction for the game.

Seattle Mariners Preview:

"Back home tomorrow" - @ Seattle Mariners

Seattle has seen their offense struggle mightily over the past three games, as they failed to score more than two runs in any game of their series against Houston. Offensively, the Mariners will look to Adam Frazier, Julio Rodriguez, and Ty France to lead the way tonight. The Mariners will look to put that series behind them and focus on Tampa Bay.

Reigning American League Cy Young winner Robbie Ray will take the mound for the Seattle Mariners tonight looking to lead this team to a much-needed win. Ray has pitched pretty well this season, but he's not putting up the numbers you would expect out of a Cy Young winner. The major factor behind Ray's subtle decline so far has been his command issues. In only five starts on the year, Ray already has the same number of games with four walks than he did all of last year. If he can improve on those issues tonight, then Seattle has a good shot to pull one out. Clearly, the key to victory for Seattle tonight is to get a quality start out of Robbie Ray because the offense has been struggling. It is going to be very hard to win this game if they give up more than four runs against Tampa.

Tampa Bay Rays Preview:

"SWEEP"- @ Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay took care of business against the inferior Athletics. To start the season, the Rays are playing very good baseball. Both their pitching staff and offense rank in the MLB's top 10 of most major categories. The Rays have continued to play the style of baseball that has resulted in two straight playoff appearances: quality pitching and timely offensive production.

Tonight, the Rays will send Shane McClanahan to the mound to face the Seattle Mariners lineup. Thus far, McClanahan has a respectable 3.00 ERA through five starts. He has given up at least two earned runs in three out of those five. McClanahan relies heavily on strikeouts, which could be both good and bad for a pitcher. If his command isn't on point tonight, it could lead to an uptick in walks allowed. The simple math will tell you that the more runners that get on base, the more opportunities the opponent has to score runs. The key to victory for the Rays is to get a quality start out of Shane McClanahan and find a way to be productive against Seattle Mariners' starter Robbie Ray.

Pick/Prediction: Seattle Mariners ML (+115)

Considering the pitching matchup, this game should be extremely competitive throughout. The Rays have been playing very good baseball, but most of their wins have come against teams with a winning percentage below .500. Seattle, on the other hand, has had to play a much tougher schedule to this point than the Rays have. The Mariners struggled against the Astros, but they seem to be due for some efficient offense. This is going to be a great game to watch, and we're going with the Mariners to pull out a win at home!