Mariners vs. Astros MLB Betting Preview for August 9th

Astros Host Mariners in Key 4-Game Series

Seattle Mariners vs. Houston Astros MLB Betting Preview

 Thursday, August 9 at 8:10 PM ET

 Minute Maid Park

 Dome

 The Seattle Mariners open a key four-game series with the Houston Astros. The Mariners are in third place in the American League West. They are eight games behind the Astros and three games behind the Athletics.

Paxton throws seven innings in loss against Blue Jays

James Paxton (9-5, 3.51 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) allowed three earned runs on eight hits (one home run). He also allowed a walk with seven strikeouts across seven innings in a 9-5 loss against the Blue Jays last Saturday.

Paxton induced 17 swinging strikes on 105 pitches. It was only his second start back from the disabled list. He has a 3.84 ERA and one complete game in 11 road starts. 

 The Mariners have scored 479 runs (21st in the majors)so far this seaason. They are putting up 4.72 runs per game (9th), hitting .255 (7th) with 131 home runs (16th).

Seattle ranks 17th with a 4.16 ERA, 11th with a 1.24 WHIP and 17th with 958 strikeouts. Their bullpen ranks 15th with a 3.99 ERA.

Nelson Cruz leads the Mariners with 30 home runs and 72 RBI. Ryon Healy has 21 home runs and 56 RBI and Jean Segura has team-bests with a .305 batting average and 134 hits.

Verlander dominates the Dodgers

Justin Verlander (11-6, 2.19 ERA, 0.88 WHIP) allowed one earned run on four hits (one home run) in his last start. He also allowed a walk with 14 strikeouts across 7 2/3 innings. It came in a 2-1 win against the Dodgers last Friday.

Verlander has allowed two or fewer runs in his last three starts and in five of his last six.

The Astros have scored 569 runs, which is 4th in the majors. They are putting up 4.17 runs per game (22nd), hitting .256 (6th) with 147 home runs (9th).

Houston ranks 1st with a 3.00 ERA, 1st with a 1.07 WHIP and 1st with 1218 strikeouts. Their bullpen ranks 1st with a 3.02 ERA.

Alex Bregman leads the Astros with 22 home runs and 71 RBI. Evan Gattis has 21 home runs and 67 RBI.

Houston will be without Carlos Correa (back), Jose Altuve (knee) and George Springer (sprained thumb) in this game.

MLB Trends:

 The Under is:

 6-1 in Paxton's last seven starts overall

 11-3 in Paxton's last 14 starts following a team loss in their previous game

 6-2 in Paxton's last eight starts during game 1 of a series

 11-4 in Paxton's last 15 starts against a team with a winning record

 8-3 in Paxton's last 11 road starts against a team with a winning record

 7-2-1 in Houston's last 10 against a team with a winning record

 36-16-2 in Houston's last 54 during game 1 of a series

 8-2 in Houston's last 10 starts against a team with a winning record

 With the way James Paxton and Justin Verlander are pitching coming into this game, the Under looks like the play. Paxton is 3-0 with an 0.87 ERA in three starts against the Astros this season. Verlander is 2-0 with a slim 1.82 ERA in his last six starts against the Mariners.

 MLB Picks: Under 6.5 (-105) at Jazz Sportsbook

 Check odds here: https://goo.gl/dVwAAb

 Odds as seen on ESPN Chalk: https://goo.gl/ji6GJZ