Seattle Mariners vs Oakland Athletics 3/21/19 MLB Pick

The Mariners and the Athletics are facing off again in Japan to have the opening series for the majors. The first game of the series came off as a victory for the Athletics in what ended up being a massive shootout if you enjoy watching the players cross the plate as the Mariners were able to take the win 9-7. Now, this game is one that will require you to be up early to catch this game as it comes on at 5:30 AM EST and that could be a problem for a lot of the fans.

Seattle Mariners Preview

Ichiro was the player who was able to really wow the fans in Tokyo as he returned to the place that started his career as a professional player. However, the Mariners were able to find Jay Bruce to be a great player in the game as he was able to get the first hit of the season. Edwin Encarnacion was able to score twice in the game. Tim Beckham was able to really play great for the Mariners as he went 3-3  at the plate with a homer and driving in 2 runs.

 Taking the mound in this game for the Mariners is Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi will be making his debut in the majors in this game and the first game he threw in was against the Cincinnati Reds. Kikuchi is throwing from the left side of the mound and he is also another player who started his career in Japan and is back to play in the game here.

Oakland Athletics Preview

The Athletics were not expecting to see the power that was coming from Seattle in the opening game of the series. Now, the Athletics are going to be trying to figure out a way to pick out a win in this game here as they are going to face Kikuchi who is a new pitcher to the league and one who only made his debut in the majors 23 days ago against the Reds.  Matt Chapman was the leader of the Athletics in the game here as he was able to get 2 hits in 5 at bats. However, he was able to drive in 3 runs in the game to be the leading run producer for the Athletics.

Marco Estrada is the player who will be going to the mound in this game here. Estrada on this career has been able to post a 4.24 ERA on the season so far. He has managed to go near the five hundred mark as a starter with a 62-66 record on the season so far. In the 1227.2 innings he has pitched in his career he has managed to strike out a total of 1083 batters so far.

Mariners vs Athletics Line: Oakland Athletics -125 O/U 9

My Free MLB Pick: Seattle Mariners +105

The Mariners were able to crush the Athletics to open the season. Now, the Athletics are coming into this game as the favorite, but it is pushing it. Kikuchi has been impressive in the spring so far and is pretty much an unknown to the Athletics and it will make it harder for the hitters to find a sweet swing. I look for the Mariners pitching to lead this game as Kikuchi is pitching at home for him and that will lead to the Mariners winning this game. I think the score will be lower in this game and come in at a Mariners win 5-2.