The Detroit Tigers (41-40) are still smarting from the loss of Miguel Cabrera to injury. They have no choice, however, but to move forward and find a way to win to keep from falling further behind in the American League Central division. As for the Seattle Mariners (38-44), they have a lot of work to do if they intend to rise from their lowly fourth-place position in the AL West.
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[sc:MLBArticles ]Detroit Tigers vs. Seattle Mariners Preview
Where: Safeco Field, Seattle
When: Friday, July 3, 2015, 7:10 PM ET
Line: Detroit Tigers (+134) vs. Seattle Mariners (-144); total: 7.0 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Detroit Tigers
[sc:MLB240banner ]Even without All-Star first baseman Miguel Cabrera for the foreseeable future, the Tigers’ offense remains a dangerous one. And if there’s a time that the Tigers must show their fangs on offense, it’ll have to be every time Alfredo Simon (7-5, 3.94 ERA) is on the mound.
Simon, who gets the ball for tonight’s game against Seattle, has been rocked hard over his last three outings. During that stretch, Simon went 0-2 and gave up 18 earned runs (four homers). His last start was particularly disastrous, as he scattered 15 hits and allowed six earned runs in Detroit’s 9-3 loss to the Pirates on July 1. Hopefully for Simon, he can get his confidence back against the light-hitting Mariners. The Mariners are currently last in the majors in batting average (.229), on-base percentage (.290), and 25th in slugging percentage (.374).
With Simon looking shaky of late, guys like J.D. Martinez and Ian Kinsler must be able to show up and supply the needed breathing room for the pitcher. Martinez, who takes over Cabrera’s usual third spot in the batting order, has been hitting well of late. He is 11-for-24 (.458) with four homers and 10 RBIs in his past six games. Kinsler, meanwhile, is 10-for-29 (.345) over the same span. He is 9-for-23 (.391) with three homers in his career against Iwakuma.
The over is 5-0 in Simon’s last five starts overall.
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Betting on the Seattle Mariners
After a lengthy absence, Hisashi Iwakuma (0-1, 6.61 ERA) is set to appear in the majors again. Iwakuma, who was put on the Disabled List because of a back injury last April, will make just his fourth start of the season when he faces Detroit at home later tonight. Dating back to 2014, the Mariners are 6-4 in Iwakuma’s last 10 home starts.
In his most recent MLB start, Iwakuma allowed four earned runs on five hits back in Seattle’s 7-5 loss to Houston on April 20. While he was doing rehab work in the minors, Iwakuma picked up a 1-0 record and a 1.35 ERA in three starts for Tacoma. Iwakuma may be a little rusty when he gets on the mound in the series opener against the Tigers, but he can find confidence on his 1-1 record and a solid 2.25 ERA in three career starts against Detroit.
Backing Iwakuma is Seattle’s offense led by Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager, and Robinson Cano. Cruz leads the team in batting average (.304), homers (21), RBIs (50), and OBP (.364). Seager, on the other hand, is batting .256 this season with 12 homers and 38 RBIs. As for Cano, he is hitting .333 (8-for-24) with a homer and three RBIs over his last six games.
Writer’s Prediction
Detroit (+134) wins, 6-3.
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