The Royals (39-81, 23-37 home) will host the Mariners (63-55, 29-27 away) in game two of this American League series. Starting for the Royals is Jordan Lyles, while the Mariners are giving the ball to Emerson Hancock. Read on to see my pick for this showdown between Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners.

SEATTLE MARINERS VS KANSAS CITY ROYALS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Seattle Mariners -1.5 Runs

This game will be played at Kauffman Stadium at 8:10 ET on Tuesday, August 15th.

WHY BET THE SEATTLE MARINERS:

  • Against the runline, the Royals have gone just 4-6 in their last ten home games.
  • The Mariners have put together a 6-4 record vs. the runline in their last ten games as the favorite.
  • Jordan Lyles has struggled of late, coming in with an ERA of 5.95 over his last three starts.

SEATTLE MARINERS TRYING TO CLOSE GAP IN AL WEST

This season, the Mariners have played a total of 38 series and are above .500 at 19-17-2. On the road, Seattle is 29-27 and 34-28 at home. Their overall record of 63-55 has the Mariners sitting 3rd in the AL West.

Hancock’s last outing saw him surrender two hits over five innings, yielding one earned run. The Mariners ultimately emerged victorious in the 6-1 victory over the Padres, though Hancock did not factor into the decision.

This season, the Mariners are 15th in the league at 4.6 runs per game. Over their last five games, they have a combined batting average of .234 (17th) leading to 4.8 runs per contest. Overall, they are generating 3.3 walks per game compared to 9 strikeouts. Seattle’s on-base percentage of .314 has them 15th in the MLB.

Julio Rodríguez has been a key contributor to the Mariners’ offense this season, boasting a .257 batting average and .435 slugging percentage. In the team’s last ten games, he has been particularly impressive, leading Seattle in hits and batting an impressive .344.

WILL THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

120 games into the season, the Royals have a record of 39-81, putting them 5th in the AL Central. This mark includes an overall series 6-29-3. At home, they are 23-37 compared to 16-44 on the road.

The Royals will turn to starter Jordan Lyles, who has an overall record of 3-13 after 22 appearances. His ERA stands at 6.13, and his K/9 is 6.27. Lyles has also put together a FIP of 5.25 and an OBP of .300 thus far in the 2023 season.

Jordan Lyles had a tough outing in his last start, surrendering four earned runs and seven hits in eight innings of work. Unfortunately, the Royals were unable to come away with a win, falling 4-3 to the Red Sox.

During their last ten games, Kansas City is the 13th ranked offense in terms of batting average. In these games, they have hit a combined .253 and are averaging 4.7 runs per game. Across the entire season, the Royals are hitting .242 with an OBP of .300 while averaging 4 runs per contest. This figure puts them 25th in the league.

Bobby Witt Jr. is the leader of the Royals’ long ball brigade in 2023, having smashed 22 home runs and driven in 72 runs. His slugging percentage for the season stands at an impressive .492.