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MLB Bets Tonight: Expert Picks for Mariners vs. Athletics, Sept. 18
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I'm honing in on the Mariners-Athletics AL West clash tonight as Seattle looks to bounce back behind talented young righty Bryan Woo after an especially untimely three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers .
Seattle Mariners 
at Oakland Athletics 
Best Bets
The Mariners are in a dogfight for an AL wild-card spot, and they enter Monday's action just a game back of the Rangers for the third and final such slotting. Seattle will roll out Woo on a solid five days' rest to face an Athletics team that he twirled a six-inning scoreless game against three starts ago.
The Mariners are up to -185 favorites for Monday's series opener versus Oakland, which will roll out tough-luck lefty JP Sears. Sears sports an ugly 5-11 record that's belied by a 4.45 ERA. The one Achilles heel for Sears has been giving up the long ball, as he's surrendered a whopping 31 homers across 29 starts, even after not allowing any during his last three turns.
Meanwhile, Woo has been a picture of consistency, especially by a rookie's standard. The right-hander has only had two true blow-up outings, and those came against the Rangers on the road and the Twins at home. He's allowed three earned runs or less in 11 of 15 starts, and he's facing an A's team that has a massive 30.0 percent strikeout rate, .233 average, .283 OBP, .301 wOBA and -5.6 wRAA against righties at home in the last month.
Meanwhile, Seattle boasts an AL-best .299 average and .363 wOBA – along with an .840 OPS and 12.5 wRAA – versus lefties in the last month of play. The Mariners are also averaging the fourth-most runs per first 5 innings per road game (2.9), while the A's are averaging an MLB-low 1.85 per first 5 innings per home contest.
With respect to the Julio Rodriguez prop, the red-hot slugger has been at his absolute best versus lefties on the road, a split in which he owns a .349 average, .909 OPS and .383 wOBA over 65 plate appearances. Meanwhile, 22 of the 48 hits Sears has given up to righty bats at home have gone for extra bases, and Oakland relievers have pitched to a 5.26 ERA and allowed 16 XBH to right-handed hitters at home in the last month.
MLB Focus Bets Recap:
- Mariners moneyline - 1st 5 Innings (-145 on DraftKings Sportsbook) for 1 RW Buck
- Bryan Woo To Record A Win (+140 on DraftKings Sportsbook) for 1 RW Buck
- Julio Rodriguez Over 1.5 Total Bases (-105 on BetMGM Sportsbook) for 1 RW Buck
