Seattle Mariners vs Houston Astros Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/07/2023

Game Time: 8:10 pm ET, Friday, July 7, 2023

Venue:  Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  Sportsnet SW

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Mariners -105, Astros -115; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Mariners +100, Astros -120; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Mariners -105, Astros -115; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Seattle Mariners:  42-43 (4th place, AL West)

Houston Astros:  49-38 (2nd place, AL West)

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Seattle Mariners:  5-5 last 10

Houston Astros:  8-2 last 10

The Mariners are entering this series off of a loss but won their 3-game series against the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 42-43 record overall and have a road record of 18-23. This is the 2nd game of a 4-game series with the Astros on Friday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Thursday. Their offense ranks 24th in the MLB with a .702 OPS. George Kirby is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Luis Castillo is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 5-6 with a 3.05 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 4 ER, 2 HR, and 0 BB with 6 Ks on 7 hits through 6 IP against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Astros are entering this series on a 4 game winning streak and completed the sweep 2-0 in their 2-game series against the Colorado Rockies in their last series. They enter this game with a 49-38 record overall and have a home record of 24-19. This is the 2nd game of a 4-game series with the Mariners on Friday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Thursday. Their offense ranks 13th in the MLB with a .735 OPS. Spenser Watkins is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Hunter Brown is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 6-5 with a 3.76 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 earned runs, 0 homers, and 0 BB with 6 strikeouts on 10 hits through 4 innings played against the Texas Rangers.

The current betting odds have the Mariners listed as a slight underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Mariners haven't been having a great season but they have been playing a lot better in their games lately and are starting to go on a bit of a run now. The Astros have also been getting hot in their games lately but they have had some issues with their pitching as their starting rotation is already really thin due to injuries and their bullpen has been giving up a lot of runs lately too. The pitching for the Mariners has been a lot better lately though and they are going to have their ace Castillo on the mound here. Castillo has been pitching really well in his starts lately and he will continue to pitch well here since the Astros offense hasn't been great this season. The Astros are going with Brown in this game and he hasn't been bad in a lot of his starts, but he hasn't been great either and the Mariners offense will get after him for some runs here now that they are getting hot. The Mariners have the better pitching staff right now with their recent performances and that will be enough to give the Mariners the edge in this game. The best way to place a bet here is on the Mariners to win this game.

Mariners Astros Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday, July 7, 2023 (8:10 pm ET start time) is Mariners 4 Astros 2.

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Seattle Mariners: 42-43 (-11.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 34-35 (-11.5 units) on the moneyline when the total is 7 to 8.5. 22-15 OVER when the money line is +125 to -125. 

Houston Astros: 20-16 (+4.4 units) on the moneyline when the money line is +125 to -125. 16-7 (+8.4 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 21-14 OVER at home when the total is 7 to 8.5. 

Seattle Mariners:  T. France (3B) Ques Thurs - Ribs. B. Miller (SP) Late July - Finger. M. Gonzales (SP) Mid July - Forearm. P. Murfee (SP) out for season - Elbow. R. Ray (SP) out for season - Forearm. E. McGee (SP) out for season - Elbow. E. White (1B) Mid Aug - Thigh.

Houston Astros:  J. Altuve (2B) Ques Thurs - Oblique. F. Valdez (SP) Prob Thurs - Ankle. M. Brantley (DH) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. J. Urquidy (SP) Late July - Shoulder. L. McCullers Jr. (SP) out for season - Elbow. Y. Alvarez (LF) Mid July - Oblique. L. Garcia (SP) out for season - Elbow.

“It was pretty cool, I always wanted to do the dance but I kind of embarrassed myself... First time, hopefully it didn't look too bad. I'll take it.” - Logan Gilbert after their win against the Giants in their game on Tuesday.

“It was right on time. He drove in all the first three runs with some booming home runs and we needed that.” - Dusty Baker after his team’s win against the Rockies in their game on Wednesday.

J.P. Crawford (L) SS

Julio Rodriguez (R) CF

Teoscar Hernandez (R) RF

Mike Ford (L) 1B

Eugenio Suarez (R) DH

Jarred Kelenic (L) LF

Cal Raleigh (S) C

Jose Caballero (R) 3B

Kolten Wong (L) 2B

Mauricio Dubon (R) 2B

Alex Bregman (R) 3B

Kyle Tucker (L) RF

Jose Abreu (R) DH

Yainer Diaz (R) C

Bligh Madris (L) 1B

Corey Julks (R) LF

Jeremy Pena (R) SS

Jake Meyers (R) CF

Batting Average:  Tom Murphy (.280)

Hits:  Julio Rodriguez (87)

Home Runs:  Teoscar Hernandez (15)

RBI:  Eugenio Suarez (49)

Stolen Bases:  Julio Rodriguez (20)

Wins:  George Kirby (7)

Saves:  Paul Sewald (16)

ERA:  Easton McGee (0.00)

Batting Average:  Kyle Tucker (.293)

Hits:  Kyle Tucker (91)

Home Runs:  Yordan Alvarez (17)

RBI:  Yordan Alvarez (55)

Stolen Bases:  Kyle Tucker (14)

Wins:  Cristian Javier (7)

Saves:  Ryan Pressly (19)

ERA:  Hector Neris (1.51)

Managers:

Seattle Mariners: Scott Servais (8th season)

Houston Astros: Dusty Baker (4th season)