The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners will kickoff an interleague series on Friday night. Both teams are in the heat of a playoff race in their respective leagues, and this should be a highly competitive series. The pitching matchup favors the Arizona Diamondbacks in a big way in the series opener.
The Arizona Diamondbacks lead the National League West by one game over the Colorado Rockies entering this series. They have opened up a 4.5 game lead on the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers. The Seattle Mariners are 4.5 games in back of the Oakland Athletics for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. The Arizona Diamondbacks are -156 over the Seattle Mariners on Friday.
Godley Starts For Diamondbacks
Right hander Zack Godley will make the start for the Diamondbacks on Friday night. Godley is 13-6 on the season for Arizona, but does sport a 4.44 earned run average. He has won his last four decisions dating back to July 6, but has struggled a bit in his previous few outings. The Diamondbacks are in need of a great start from Godley in this game.
The Diamondbacks offense is the main reason for their recent surge to the top of the National League West. All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt leads the team with 29 home runs and 73 runs batted in. Outfielder David Peralta leads the team with a .306 batting average at the top of the Diamondbacks order.
Mariners Feature Veteran Lineup
The Seattle Mariners don’t have a true offensive star, but a bunch of proven veterans have kept them in the playoff race. Nelson Cruz has hit 31 home runs to lead the team, while Mitch Haniger has driven in 81 runs. The Mariners got a boost early last week when Robinson Cano was activated after serving an 80 game suspension for the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Veteran right-hander Erasmo Ramirez will start for the Mariners in the series opener. Ramirez will be making just his fifth start of the season, and third since returning from the disabled list with a shoulder injury. He has yet to earn a win in 2018, but pitched well in his last start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mariners are counting on Ramirez pitching well for them as they enter the stretch run.
Diamondbacks Roll To Victory
The Mariners have been scuffling a bit, winning just one game in their last four. Seattle needs to rack up the wins if they are going to stay in the American League playoff race. The Mariners will need to score runs in support of Ramirez on Friday night.
Paul Goldschmidt and company look like the class of the NL West, but face a tough Seattle team this weekend. Arizona has won six of their last seven games and will look to stay hot with Godley on the mound. Look for the Diamondbacks to score a ton of runs and win the series opener. Take the Arizona Diamondbacks -156 on Friday.
