I get why the Mariners are underdogs because they enter this series having lost seven of eight and are not hitting the ball. That said, those were all on the road. Seattle is 7-2 at home and batting .276 with an OPS of .829 at T-Mobile Park compared to .204 and .610 away. Reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray has a 3.00 ERA in two home starts with an opponents' batting average of .209 and he was very good vs. the Rays last year while with Toronto. Tampa Bay is just 3-13 in Seattle since 2016. The Rays' best reliever, Andrew Kittredge (1.46 ERA, 4 SV), surely won't be available after pitching each of the past three games. Seattle RL at -160.

On Thursday, the Seattle Mariners are returning home from a lengthy nine-game road trip. They’re coming off being swept by the Houston Astros and have dropped seven of their last eight. Look for the Rays to have the edge as they saw Robbie Ray six times last season. He’s also had issues as of late avoiding a big inning. Take the Rays.

Both Robbie Ray and Shane McClanahan have been solid to start the season, so I think that is mostly a wash. The Rays bullpen has actually been slightly better than the Mariners overall, the Rays are ranked 5th while the Mariners are ranked 11th. Andrew Kittridge will also be unavailable for the Rays having pitched 3 days in a row. The Mariners hit lefties well and so do the Rays this season. However, in the last two weeks, the Rays have slowed down while the Mariners have actually been better against lefties. The Mariners are 7-2 at home and they were able to save all their top bullpen arms against Houston. These two teams played in Tampa Bay last week with the Rays winning two out of three, but the two losses were one run games. I expect that final score to slip with these games now on the West Coast.