MLB Baseball Picks: Oakland Athletics vs. Seattle Mariners: August 24th 2009

Oakland Athletics vs. Seattle Mariners u8.5 (100)
Mon Aug 24 ‘09 10:10p
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A pitching matchup between Vin Mazzaro of the Oakland Athletics and Ian Snell of the Seattle Mariners may need seem like an obvious Over at first glance, but a close look reveals that Under is the play here.

Mazzaro had a terrible start, but he has appeared to turn a corner lately, as he has allowed three runs or less in each of his last three starts. Yes his stamina is a question mark, but he has the support of an excellent Oakland bullpen that has posted a 2.91 ERA over the last 10 games. It also helps that the Mariners offense is hitting just .251 as a team while averaging 4.00 runs over the last 10 games.

The Oakland offense has been even worse, averaging 3.80 runs over this same span. This should make life easier for Seattle starter Ian Snell, who is coming off of his best start in a Mariners' uniform as he allowed one run and four hits in 5.2 innings vs. the Detroit Tigers last Wednesday. This is also his first career start vs. the Athletics, which should work to his advantage.

In fact, this will also be the first time that Mazzaro has faced the Mariners, so we expect both offenses to struggle against these unfamiliar pitchers tonight.

MLB Free Pick: Athletics, Mariners Under 8.5 (+100)