Mariners vs Twins: Robbie Ray’s Seattle Debut | MLB Betting Favorites

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The Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins both had very productive offseasons and both could be playoff teams this season. They were supposed to open in the Twin Cities on Thursday but weather was an issue and they will instead Friday, the Mariners debut of 2021 AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray. It’s a pick’em on the MLB odds.

How to Bet Seattle at Minnesota MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Friday, 4:10 PM ET
Where: Target Field
Probable pitchers (away/home): Robbie Ray/Joe Ryan
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: Mariners -105, Twins -105 (total 8)

Why Bet on Seattle?

The Mariners will start the year without an expected key piece of their bullpen in Ken Giles for at least a couple of weeks because of a tendon issue in his right middle finger. Giles had 23 saves and a 1.87 ERA in 53 appearances with Toronto in 2019. He pitched in just four games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season before realizing he needed elbow surgery and missed all of last year. Giles’ setback is the second injury in Seattle’s bullpen. Seattle also has lost reliever Casey Sadler for the season because he needs shoulder surgery, but the team moved quickly to replace him by signing veteran Sergio Romo to a one-year deal. All eyes Friday will be on Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez, an outfielder who is the No. 3 prospect in the sport and an AL Rookie of the Year favorite. He will start in center field. Rodriguez absolutely killed the ball this spring and is capable of stealing 30 bases. The Mariners haven’t had a phenom like this who captured the baseball world’s attention as a position player since Alex Rodriguez in the mid-’90s. The Mariners added four All-Stars this offseason with the goal of building on the momentum of their surprise 90-72 record from last season, eager to finally snap a 20-year playoff drought after coming so tantalizingly close in ’21. One of those All-Stars was lefty pitcher Robbie Ray, the 2021 Cy Young winner with Toronto. He starts Friday. Ray pitched decently in a no-decision against the Brewers in Cactus League play last Saturday in his final warmup, allowing three runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. He had six strikeouts while issuing just one free pass. On the spring, Ray posted a 4.61 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 17/5 K/BB ratio across 13 2/3 innings. Last year with the Blue Jays, Ray went 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA (61 ER, 193.1 IP) with 52 walks and 248 strikeouts. He ranked 1st among American League starters in ERA (2.84), strikeouts (248), innings pitched (193.1), games started (32), WHIP (1.045), ERA+ (154) and Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement (6.7) to win the Cy Young. He became the first pitcher to lead his respective league in ERA, strikeouts and WHIP in a season since Clayton Kershaw in 2013 with the Dodgers.

Why Bet on Minnesota?

This will be the Twins debut of Carlos Correa, who was signed to a three-year, $105.3 million contract late last month in a surprise as the Twins usually don’t spend that type of money. The 27-year-old superstar shortstop is coming off a stellar final season with the Astros last year in which he led the American League in defensive runs saved and hit .279/.366/.485 with a career-high 26 home runs across 640 plate appearances. Not often you see a big trade on Opening Day, but the Twins pulled one off Thursday when they would have been playing if not for rain. Minnesota acquired right-handed pitchers Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan from the San Diego Padres in exchange for All-Star left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers and outfielder Brent Rooker. Rogers was selected to his first American League All-Star team in 2021, going 2-4 with a 3.35 ERA and a 13.17 strikeout-per-9.0 innings pitched, sixth highest among AL relievers and 10th best in the majors. Rogers was the Twins’ primary closer in 2019 (30 saves) and 2020 (nine saves) and then eventually in 2021 again after Alex Colome faltered early on. It was tough for the Minnesota clubhouse to part with Rogers, who is one of the longest-tenured Twins and a clear leader of the pitching group in both his presence and his performance, which made him one of the elite relievers of the game across the last four seasons. The Twins did need to add some rotation depth and do so with Paddack. Rookie Joe Ryan (with five career starts) will be Friday’s Opening Day starter, with Sonny Gray, Dylan Bundy and Bailey Ober behind him in the rotation. As noted above, Ryan will get the call in the opener on the mound. From trade acquisition and September callup in 2021 to Opening Day starter in ’22, Ryan’s rise to the top of Minnesota’s rotation is nearly unprecedented. He will become the third pitcher in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to make an Opening Day start within his first six career games, joining José Guzman of the ’86 Rangers and Steve Busby of the ’73 Royals. Ryan will also be the first rookie to start Opening Day for the Twins since Tom Hall in ’69. Ryan did pitch in five games last year and was 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA but is still considered a rookie. The team’s No. 4 prospect per Baseball America, might not have much major-league experience, but he does have big-game experience, helping pitch Team USA to an Olympic silver medal last summer in Tokyo.