MLB Betting Preview for Thursday July 14, 2011: Texas Rangers vs. Seattle Mariners

Sports Betting Overview

The Seattle Mariners are starting to see the results of not being able to hit the baseball as they are falling further and further behind in the AL West standings. The Mariners captured the attention of the MLB baseball betting public earlier this year by staying in the thick of the AL West pennant race for the first quarter of the season. But in recent weeks, the Mariners have started to suffer from a drought of runs and have tumbled to a 43-48 record which puts them seven and half games out of first place in the division. Seattle has also made MLB baseball news headlines by falling to 11 and a half games off the pace in the AL wild card race. This is the first game back after the all-star break for Seattle, and they need to make it count.

The Texas Rangers were one of the hottest teams in baseball at the all-star break. MLB fans watched as the Rangers won eight of its last 10 games including the seven-game winning streak they are rode into the all-star break.

The Rangers are hitting the baseball with authority, but the pitching staff needs to catch up if Texas is going to repeat as the AL Champions. Rangers pitching tends to give up a lot of home runs. While that may be a problem with some of the better hitting teams in the AL, it should not present much of a challenge with the Seattle Mariners.

Seattle Mariners
The Mariners are last in all of baseball in team batting average and run scoring. The Mariners have not been able to offer much run support to their pitching rotation, which explains some of the mess that the team is in. Jason Vargas takes the mound for the Mariners and he is trying to continue the good season he started before the all-star break. For the season, Vargas is 6-6 with a 3.49 ERA. In his last four starts, Vargas is 2-2 but has only allowed six earned runs. He is an inconsistent pitcher that can give up no earned runs in one start, and then give up six earned runs a few nights later. But he is a warrior that tries to give Seattle a chance to win in every game.

Texas Rangers
The Rangers have been red hot as of late, but they remain hot because their offense can compensate for some pitching problems. Taking the mound for the Rangers in this game will be Derek Holland, and Holland has not been one of the aforementioned pitching problems that the Rangers have been having. On the season, Holland is 7-4 with a 4.68 ERA. But his last start was a complete game shutout of the Oakland A’s where he pitched with great control. Holland had a rough June, but he is looking to get off to a good start to the second half of the 2011 season against a weak Seattle batting order.

The Bottom Line
The Mariners ignored their hitting issues early in the season because their pitching was keeping them in games. Now that the pitching is becoming unpredictable, the Mariners will find it difficult to be a contender.

BSN Sports Free Pick: Texas Rangers