Much better things were expected this year from the Seattle Mariners than the New York Yankees. But going into the second half of the season, it’s the Yankees (48-40, +0.62 betting units) leading the AL East, while the Mariners (41-48, -13.10 units) are slowly sinking in the AL West. They’ll crack open a three-game set Friday night at New Yankee Stadium; first pitch is at 7:05 PM ET.
Masahiro Tanaka (3.60 FIP) gets the nod for the Yankees as they begin the second half at the top of their rotation. Tanaka isn’t as dominant as he was before hurting his elbow last year, but New York is still 8-3 in his 11 starts for 3.94 units in earnings. The Yankees are also hitting well at 14.6 WAR.
Seattle responds with Mike Montgomery (3.66 FIP), who has cooled off a bit since pitching back-to-back complete-game shutouts in late June. Montgomery failed to reach the sixth inning in either of his last two starts, leaving Seattle 0.20 units in the red on a team record of 4-4. The M’s are once again near the bottom of the majors in hitting at 9.0 WAR.
Pick: The Mariners are underachieving big time this year and teams might have started to figure out Montgomery. The Yankees will start the 2nd half of the season swinging. I’ll take the runline.
Yankees -1.5 +130
