The Texas Rangers (71-64) continue their push for an American League playoff spot as they travel up north to open up a critical four-game set with one of their division rivals, Seattle Mariners (66-71), at Safeco Field this evening. Which team emerges victorious later? Will the Rangers bounce back from their loss last night? Or will the Mariners keep rolling?
Read on below for a comprehensive preview of this intriguing AL West clash. And if while you’re at it, start preparing yourself for the upcoming 2015-16 NFL season by checking out our Week 1 game previews: Giants vs. Cowboys, Bengals vs. Raiders and Ravens vs. Broncos.
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Texas Rangers vs. Seattle Mariners Preview
Where: Safeco Field, Seattle, Washington
When: Monday, September 7, 6:40 PM ET
Line: Texas Rangers (-114) vs. Seattle Mariners (+104); total: 7.0—View all MLB Lines
Betting on the Texas Rangers
Yesterday was a day to forget for the Texas Rangers, who were held scoreless, 7-0, in a loss to the Angels. That setback sliced their advantage over the Twins for the final wild card spot in the American League to just 1.5 games. Losing again will not be an option for the Rangers tonight, as they seek to immediately get back on the winning track against the Seattle Mariners tonight.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Getting the nod for the Rangers is Yovani Gallardo (11-9, 3.27 ERA), who makes his third career start opposite the Mariners. In his previous turn, the 29-year-old right-hander gave up four earned runs and six hits in over five innings but still managed to pick up the 8-6 triumph at San Diego because of the efficient runs support from his teammates.
Prior to that game though, Gallardo was in the zone in his past two contests, pitching 11 1/3 scoreless frames for two-straight resounding wins. He’ll look to relocate this rhythm back at Safeco Field. He has a 4-5 record with a 3.50 ERA and 1.29 WHIP through 15 roads starts this season.
If Gallardo fails to find his groove later, the onus is on Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland to provide the timely contributions on offense. Fielder has proven to be very lethal on road games this year, owning a solid triple-slash line of .318/.399/.508. Moreland, meanwhile, is 4-for-8 in his last two outings and has had his share of success away from home as well, batting .311 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs on the road.
The Seattle Mariners are making things interesting as the regular season approaches its conclusion. They’re currently on a five-game winning streak and have won seven of their last 10 games. As a result, the Mariners are now six games short of the second AL wild card spot, and still have 25 games remaining in their schedule to catch up. They’ll look to stay hot and continue to remain hopeful for a postseason appearance when they play host to the Texas Rangers for the first encounter of their four-game set.
That’s easier said than done, though, especially with Roenis Elias (4-7, 4.35 ERA) taking the mound for the Mariners. Elias, who hasn’t won since June 19 versus Houston, is 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA in two starts since being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on August 23. But it’s worth noting that the 27-year-old has fared considerably well against the Rangers, holding a 2-1 record with a quality 2.42 ERA across three career starts. Seattle has lost four of its last five games at Safeco Field with him starting.
As for the offense, all the focus will be on Nelson Cruz, who leads the team in batting average (.310), homers (39), RBIs (82) and hits (158) this season. Cruz is only hitting 8-f0r-40 (.200) over the past 10 games, but he is batting .315 at home and is 6-for-8 lifetime opposite the Rangers’ starter Gallardo.
Cruz, though, is still recovering from a quad strain injury and is only deemed probable to play tonight.
That said, look to Robinson Cano to be extra productive at the plate for this game. Cano is 12-for-41 (.300) in his previous 10 contests and has a decent batting average of .285 versus Texas throughout his career.
