Mariners-Blue Jays prediction: Picks, odds on Friday, April 28

The Seattle Mariners (11-14) and Toronto Blue Jays (16-9) will begin a three-game set on Friday, April 28 at 7:07 p.m. ET from Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario. It'll be a battle of powerful right-handers, as Luis Castillo (2-0, 1.52 ERA) goes for Seattle while Alek Manoah (1-1, 5.13 ERA) starts for the Jays. The Mariners have lost three of their last four games, including the last two of their series with the Philadelphia Phillies this week. Toronto is riding a four-game winning streak after a sweep of the Chicago White Sox.

The Blue Jays are -115 moneyline favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, making the Mariners -105 underdogs with the over/under set at 8.5.

Mariners-Blue Jays picks: Friday, April 28

Mariners

Out: 1B Evan White (groin), RP Andres Munoz (shoulder), SP Robbie Ray (elbow), OF Taylor Trammell (hand), OF Dylan Moore (oblique)

Blue Jays

Day to day: OF George Springer (hand), SP Chris Bassitt (back)

Out: RP Adam Cimber (back), RP Mitch White (elbow), SP Hyun Jin Ryu (elbow), RP Chad Green (elbow)

Luis Castillo vs. Alek Manoah

Castillo has been fantastic in his second season in Seattle, allowing just five runs over his first five starts. He's coming off his worst start of the year so far, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks with eight strikeouts over five innings in a win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Manoah has been a bit inconsistent early on. He's thrown seven scoreless innings twice this season but also had two starts where he allowed a combined 12 runs. In his last time out, Manoah didn't allow a run over seven innings on two hits with a walk in a loss to the New York Yankees.

Castillo has been throwing the ball extremely well out through the first month, and Manoah is far better than his season-long numbers suggest. Manoah finished third in the AL Cy Young voting last season when he finished with a 2.24 ERA. He had his best stuff in his last performance and should be set up for success in this spot.

Pick: Under 8.5

Oddsmakers think this one can go either way, but let's go with the better offense in this spot. Toronto does a tremendous job getting on base as they rank fourth in MLB in OBP (.338), while that's an area where Seattle struggles. The Mariners are 27th in that category (.298), and that could be the difference on Friday night.

Pick: Blue Jays

  
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