Athletics vs. Mariners prediction and odds for Tuesday, May 23 (Why the A’s are a live underdog
By Josh Yourish
It’s been a long season of losing streaks and the Oakland Athletics are already embarking on another one. Last night they fell to the Seattle Mariners, 11-2, their fifth straight loss which leaves them at 10-39. That’s the worst record in the MLB and the A’s are big underdogs on the road in Seattle again tonight.
Marco Gonzales will make the start for the Mariners tonight, his ninth of the season. Gonzales is 3-1, but with a 6.10 ERA. The A’s will counter with Luis Medina who has a 6.88 ERA and is 0-2 in three starts.
Here are the odds for Game 2 between the A’s and Mariners in Seattle:
Athletics vs. Mariners odds, run line and total
Athletics vs. Mariners prediction and pick
The Oakland A’s are not a good team, but they do one specific thing pretty well, hit left-handed pitchers. Gonzales is not a particularly good left-handed pitcher either, so the A’s could be ready to have a big offensive outpouring. Brent Rooker leads the charge for this lineup regardless of who is on the mound, but particularly against lefties. He has a 1.108 OPS against left-handers with five home runs and he hits .318.
Rooker isn’t alone because Jesus Aguilar has a .995 OPS against lefties in the same number of at-bats as Rooker with just one less home run, 4. Aguilar is also hitting .318 and getting on base at an over .400 clip. Esteury Ruiz has the most at-bats against lefties and is hitting .327 with five doubles, a home run and an .866 OPS. As a team, the A’s are 14th in OPS against lefties and fifth in home runs.
It’s never a great idea to bet on a team that only has 10 wins in late May, but I think tonight is the night to do it. Can their pitching hold up? Probably not, but at nearly +200 odds, I like the A’s as an underdog tonight.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change