Nothing but important games on today's slate as we still have important races coming down to the wire. Let’s check out three games that could sway the playoffs on the season’s final weekend.
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Oakland Athletics vs. Seattle Mariners
A Mariners win and a Rays loss on Thursday moved Seattle up to second the WildCard spot, which now means they would face the first Wild Card winner instead of the third-seed division winner. They had a reason to celebrate last night, as their walk-off guaranteed them a spot in the playoffs.
Luis Castillo has been a great addition to the Mariners' rotation and will be an intricate part of their postseason run. He's surprisingly struggled this season against the Athletics, losing both of his starts and allowing eight earned in 9.2 innings.
Since coming over from the Yankees, JP Sears started off well, but he has not pitched well in September. He has not pitched well, except against the Mariners -in two starts, and he's allowed just one earned in ten innings with two wins.
The matchup should favor Seattle, but the trends say ride with the underdogs. The Mariners will have a little hangover from celebrating their playoff berth and will drop this one.
Parlay Odds: +472 via FanDuel
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros
- Leg 1: Astros ML (–162)
- Leg 2: Over 6.5 (-118)
- Leg 3: Shane McClanahan under 4.5 strikeouts (-148)
- Leg 4: Cristian Javier Under 6.5 strikeouts (-118)
This could allow Tampa Bay to move back into that second Wild Card spot. It's been a rough September for the Rays, and at one point, they had a legitimate shot at the American League East title, but now they are holding onto the third Wild Card spot with the possibility of missing the playoffs.
Shane McClanahan's downfall in the last couple of months has been puzzling because he was a real contender in the American League Cy Young race earlier this year. He's been roughed up in his last two starts, allowed nine earned, one of those being against the Astros.
Cristian Javier was on the other side of that matchup and went five scoreless, allowing just one hit. Overall he's been untouchable as he's gone 17 scoreless innings giving up just four hits in that span.
The Rays are struggling at the plate, scoring one run in four of their last six and just two in their series with Houston last week. Astros will come away with an easy win.
Parlay Odds: +683 via FanDuel
New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves
- Leg 1: Mets ML (–126)
- Leg 2: Jeff McNeil to record 2+ total bases (+100)
- Leg 3: Max Scherzer Over 7.5 strikeouts (-130)
You had two of the top pitchers in the National League squaring off last night in this crucial series, and we'll see it again tonight.
Kyle Wright becomes the first 20-game winner this year and will try to get No. 21 in an important matchup. His last start against the Mets was a disaster allowing six earned, including four home runs in the loss.
Coming into today. Max Scherzer is three for three this year against the Braves. The last one wasn't his best start as he allowed four earned but had a ton of run support in the 9-7 win.
We'll see a much closer game than last night, but you should put your faith in Mad Max as these are the types of games the Mets are paying him $40 Million to pitch in.
Parlay Odds: +416 via FanDuel
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