AL West GAME OF THE YEAR MLB 10*
(MLB) Seattle vs. Oakland, 08/23/2021 9:40 PM, Score: 5 - 3
Money Line: 116.00 Seattle (Away)
Result: Win
ACTION on pitchers. Team and momentum edges clearly with the visitors in this one – #909 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Seattle Mariners +115 over Oakland A's, Monday at 9:40 PM ET – Paul Blackburn gets the start for the Athletics here. He struggled last week in what was his first MLB start in nearly a year. Ironically that prior start in 2020 was also against the Mariners. In his last 3 starts at the MLB level Blackburn has allowed 15 earned runs in 10 and 2 / 3 innings. Also, the right-hander had not been overly impressive, to say the least, toiling away in the minors before being called up for last week's start. Blackburn had allowed 4 earned runs or more in 4 of his last 6 starts at the minor league level. In those 4 outings the damage was bad and could have been even worse as he allowed a combined 36 hits in 20 and 1 / 3 innings! Look for him to struggle here and he faces a Mariners team high on confidence right now as they have won 8 of 11 games. The A's, on the other hand, are slumping and have lost 6 of last 8 games. That means Seattle's red-hot starter, Marco Gonzales, should dominate here. The M's lefty has been on fire with a 0.67 ERA his last 4 starts. It is no fluke either as the southpaw has only surrendered 16 hits in those 27 innings! Going further back he is 4-0 last 6 starts and has been charged with a total of only 6 earned runs in those 6 outings. We have the big pitching edge here but even taking the starting pitching out of the equation, the team edge and momentum is clearly with the visitors in this one. We will grab the road team as an underdog on the money line in this one and bet Seattle Mariners +115