Toronto Blue Jays vs Seattle Mariners Prediction, Odds and Preview - 08/13/2021

Game Time: 10:10 pm ET, Friday, August 13th, 2021
Venue:  T-Mobile Park, Seattle, Washington
Where to Watch: ROOTNW, SNET-1

Blue Jays:  62-51 (4th place, AL East)
Mariners:  60-55 (3rd place, AL West)

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Blue Jays -160, Mariners +120; Over/Under:  9 runs
Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Blue Jays -160, Mariners +120; Over/Under 9.5 runs
BetMGM:  Moneyline odds: Blue Jays -160, Mariners +120; Over/Under 9 runs

Blue Jays:  Bo Bichette (shins) Day to Day, Josh Palacios (hand) Day to Day
Mariners:  Pat Sewald (paternity… Awww) Out, Kyle Lewis (knee) Out

Blue Jays:

G. Springer, CF
M. Semien, SS
V. Guerrero Jr., DH
T. Hernandez, LF
C. Dickerson, LF
A. Kirk, C
L. Gurriel Jr., 1B
B. Valera, 2B
S. Espinal, 3B

Mariners:

J. Crawford, SS
M. Haniger, DH
K. Seager, 3B
T. France, 1B
A. Toro, 2B
J. Kelenic, CF
C. Raleigh, C
J. Fraley, RF
D. Moore, LF

Blue Jays:

Batting Average: Vladimir Guerrero Jr (.311)
Hits:  Bo Bichette (130)
Home Runs:  Vlad Guerrero Jr (35)
RBI:  Vladimir Guerrero Jr (88)
Stolen Bases:  Bo Bichette (17)
Wins:  Hyun Jin Ryu (11)
Saves:  Jordan Romano (10)
ERA:  Alek Manoah (2.59)

Mariners:

Batting Average:  Ty France (.281)
Hits: JP Crawford & Mitch Haniger  (114)
Home Runs:  Mitch Haniger (26)
RBI:  Kyle Seager (72)
Stolen Bases:  Dylan Moore  (17)
Wins:  Chris Flexen (10)
Saves:  Kendall Graveman (10)
ERA: Drew Steckenrider (2.20)

Managers:

Blue Jays:  Charlie Montoya, GM is Ross Atkins
Mariners: Scott Servais,  GM is Jerry Dipoto

The Blue Jays have gone 8-2 over their last ten games.  Moneyline is paying bigtime.  The logged 5 Overs, 4 Unders, and a Push. A series sweep against the Cleveland Indians 3-0, 3-4 against the Boston Red Sox, 2-3 against LAA… Los Angeles heads watched them win decisively on Wednesday,  final score 11-2.  

The Mariners have gone 4-6 in their last ten games. Logging 8 Unders and 2 Overs (they have trouble scoring!!), 1-3 against the Texas Rangers, 2-1 against the Tampa Bay Rays, 1-4 against the New York Yankees.

The two teams look close in record, but they are miles apart.  The American league has to worry about the Houston Astros, The Oakland Athletics,  The Boston Red Sox, The Chicago White Sox, and the Tampa Bay Rays… they can write off the Angels, the Orioles.  Which means that the Mariners can write off everyone… The Blue Jays however have a shot in their division.  They have the offense, they have the momentum.  They include in their worries National League powerhouses like the Los Angeles Dodgers, The Philadelphia Phillies (the phils!) San Francisco Giants, and even the Milwaukee Brewers?  The Blue Jays are the San Diego Padres of the American League, they have the Padres odds… they have a good record and a great offense but still a far way to go for 1st place.

Both teams consistently destroy the Arizona Diamondbacks

The Blue Jays are #1 in major league hitting,  The quad of Vlad Guerrero Jr, Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernandez, and Marcus Semien says the bats get hot… they stay hot… and they make hard contact with anything over the plate.  The Blue Jays are 2nd in batting average (.266), 3rd in runs scored (588), 2nd in home runs (173). You can’t walk everybody.  They are in the mix for the most hotly contested division in baseball; an eight-game streak could launch them from 4th to firmly in first place depending on how everything breaks down.  

The Mariners are 14-15th in major league batting. They are all the way at the bottom for 30th in batting average (.222), 20th in runs scored, 18th in home runs.  The Seattle Mariners are either keeping an offense under wraps or simply not good. They are 28th in hitting the triple (an odd stat)... they are 28th in hitting the double.

The gray area of this pitching matchup is that there is no projected starting pitcher… both teams will rely on a bullpen games with strong relief appearances. Neither is trotting out a great WHIP. A bullpen comparison can only be done by handicappers working in the ER on any game after July…  the call-ups, the injury replacements, the oppressive heat that sends gamblers scrambling for the cool AC found in adult dancing entertainment venues… fortunately, I'm that guy.

The Blue Jays are 12th in team ERA, 12th in strikeouts, 19th in home runs given up.  Average pitching.

The Mariners are 16th in ERA (4.36),  21st in strikeout (949), 14th in home runs given up (134).  Below average pitching.

So when an average pitching team with a great offense faces a below average pitching team with a terrible offense… there won’t be many 1-run games, it’ll be long decided by a wide margin early every time.

Jim Feist is 14-3 with his last 17 full MLB selections!  Get Jim’s Friday MLB Best Bets at our Shop Picks page, where you can find all of today's entire Major League Baseball premium pick predictions.

Both teams are listing the starting pitcher as TBD!  So Exciting!!!... This means it is a super hot summer and teams don’t know how any reliever on their staff will hold up, also who will go a lot of length on the mound.  So, the projected starter doesn’t matter.  The team matters, the amount of consecutive games matters, finale of a three-game series Thursday matters, and who throws the first pitch becomes an afterthought.  Both teams will throw  the full list of bullpen names at the opponents, hoping for more accuracy than the other guy.  They are also hoping for forgiveness from newsrooms, news coverage and fantasy baseball types.  The respective managers will give no warranties,... and all games are for entertainment purposes… but we are looking at a hitters’ day coincidentally in a hitters’ park. Skip the money line on this one and go for the Over / Under… and remember this isn’t the giants vs the strong dodgers.

"It hasn't been easy, but our pitching certainly has given us a chance," Mariners manager Scott Servais lied.

"Today was so huge because our bullpen was thin. We needed something like that." Toronto Manager Charlie Montoya said of a win over the Angels on Wednesday.

"I think it's funny and that's so great," Montoyo said about Hernández not getting his due at times. "He's an all-star and he keeps doing it when it counts. It has been great. Today that hit was huge."

“We haven’t been to Petco Park since that Sunday in April… you moron.”  - My wife after I said I take her places.

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