The Detroit Tigers have essentially declared that they’re going to be sellers at the trade deadline. That could mean problems against the Seattle Mariners in the final game of this series on Thursday.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Both of these teams have been on relatively cold streaks of late. The Tigers have dropped five of their last seven games coming into Tuesday, while the Mariners are 1-4 in their last five. Detroit is also just 3-8 in its last 11 games against AL West clubs.
The Tigers are only a .500 team right now, and they’re out 2.97 units on the season. The M's are still trying to recover from a poor first half of the year, as they’re nine-games under .500 and down 14.74 units.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Early in the week, sources suggested that David Price could be moved at the trade deadline, which is of course just a week and change away. Theoretically, Price could end up being moved before this start, but we would guess that he'll still be around come Thursday afternoon.
The lefty has been awesome this year, going 9-3 with a 2.32 ERA. He has 127 strikeouts in 132 innings of work, which is a bit off of his clip of 271 from last year but is still a respectable number.
Price has allowed just two earned runs in his last three starts.
Hisashi Iwakuma is off of the disabled list, and is going to be hurling for the M's on Thursday as well. The righty has allowed just two runs in his last 13.2 innings spanning two starts, but there are definitely still some concerns.
Iwakuma hasn't had great velocity on his fastball, and though he is throwing strikes, he lends himself to allowing a lot of contact, something which could be punished against these Tigers.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"At this point, our focus is trying to win right now. We're trying to do everything we can to qualify for the playoffs. Things can turn dramatically over a 10-game period. But you have to play well, at some point, on a consistent basis. We're at a point where we have to do what's best in our heart for the franchise." – Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski on the state of the team heading closer to the trade deadline
SITUATIONAL BETTING
Joakim Soria, Detroit's closer, has been up and down this year. He allowed four runs against the Twins in a blown save loss just before the All-Star break, but since coming back from the vacation, he’s allowed just one hit and a walk with three strikeouts over two scoreless innings.
Soria has been terrible when asked to throw three straight days, so do keep that in mind if he pitches on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
PROP TALK
Robinson Cano has come back for the second half of the season with vengeance after a miserable first half. He now has three homers and five runs driven in over his last three games, and if he keeps this up, he could be in for a monster second half of the season.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Price pitched incredibly well last season when he was dangled on the trading block by the Rays, and we have no fear of him doing anything but pitching big time baseball these next few weeks as well.
It's going to cost a pretty penny in terms of vig to get the Tigers on our side, and even though we know Detroit has been playing bad baseball, the Mariners are as well. We're willing to choke on the chalk to get Price on our side.
Detroit 5, Seattle 1
The baseball betting odds for this Thursday game will first be available at BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this televised baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The game between the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers will start at 1:08 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 23, 2015 at Comerica Park in Detroit, MI. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
