The Seattle Mariners (71-70) and St. Louis Cardinals (71-69) open up a 3-game series Friday at Busch Stadium at 8:15 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Mariners vs. Cardinals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; Mariners won 2-1 last year
The M’s won the final 2 games to split the 4-game series at the Oakland A’s. That snapped a 4-game losing streak. The Mariners won 6-4 Thursday as OF Julio Rodriguez hit his 14th homer of the season. He has failed to mash all year, but he has parked 3 balls since Aug. 28. They remain 4.5 out in the AL West.
The Cards had Thursday off after taking 2 of 3 from the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. It took 5 months to happen, but 1B Paul Goldschmidt is finally looking like a pigment of his former self. He’s hitting .438 with 2 homers, 8 doubles and 9 RBIs over the last 15 days for a 1.200 OPS. Despite winning 6 of their last 8, the Cards haven’t gained much ground and remain 5 games out of a Wild Card berth.