The Mariners make the trip to Dallas to face the defending champion Rangers. The Mariners have been on a hot streak recently and the Rangers have been inconsistent to start the year. These two teams have very similar records so far. Our MLB odds series has our Mariners-Rangers prediction, odds, and pick for Tuesday.

The Mariners have been on a hot streak recently to get to 12-11 so far on the year, winning six of their last seven games, including the first game in this series. The Mariners have struggled behind the plate to start the season, but their pitching staff is a top-10 unit in the MLB. Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, Mitch Haniger, Jorge Polanco, and J. P. Crawford are standouts for the offense despite its struggles up to this point in the season. Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, and Bryce Miller have been great for the Mariners on the mound. This is an interesting matchup within their division because these two teams have the most talent and they will compete like this all season for the Division title.

The Rangers have started their World Series defense by playing well at 12-11. They have picked up where they left off last season behind the plate. They are a top 10 batting average in the MLB as a team and then they are just below the middle of the league in pitching ERA as a team. This offense is led by sluggers Adolis Garcia, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, and Josh Smith. This offense is loaded and was the biggest reason why the Rangers won it all last year. Their pitching has taken a dip and needs to be better. Nathan Eovaldi has taken center stage on the mound this season while Jon Gray and Dane Dunning have been good, but need to be better and that's been the case for the entire pitching staff, where they just need to be better than what they have shown so far.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Mariners-Rangers Odds

Seattle Mariners: -1.5 (+134)

Moneyline: -116

Texas Rangers: +1.5 (-162)

Moneyline: -102

Over: 8.5 (-110)

Under: 8.5 (-110)

How to Watch Mariners vs. Rangers

Time: 2:35 pm ET

TV: ROOT Sports

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Mariners Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Mariners are putting Luis Castillo on the mound where he has a 1-4 record, a 4.40 ERA, and a 1.36 WHIP. Through 28.2 innings, he has allowed 15 runs on 34 hits with three home runs, five walks, and 36 strikeouts. In his five appearances this season, the Mariners are 1-4 in those games. In his last time out, he pitched 7.0 innings and allowed zero runs on two hits with one walk and nine strikeouts in a Mariners win. Last season, Castillo was decent with a 14-9 record, a 3.34 ERA, and a 1.10 WHIP. Castillo needs to play better, especially against an offense as good as the Rangers behind the plate.

The Mariners have talent on offense, but they have not started the season playing great behind the plate. They are 22nd in batting average at .227 currently after finishing last season with a .242 batting average. Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, and Mitch Haniger lead the way for the Mariners in most of the batting categories. Rodriguez leads the way in batting average at .278 and in total hits at 25. Raleigh leads the way in home runs at six so far and in OBP at .350. Haniger then leads the way in RBI at 13. This offense has a good chance to rebound against Heaney for the Rangers because he has been struggling at times this season.

Why The Rangers Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Rangers are going with Andrew Heaney to start on the mound and he has a 0-2 record, a 6.35 ERA, and a 1.41 WHIP. Through 17 innings this season, he has allowed 14 runs on 15 hits with three home runs, nine walks, and then 15 strikeouts. Heaney has appeared in four games and the Rangers went 0-4 in those games so far this season. In his last start, Heaney pitched five innings allowing three runs on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Last season, Heaney was decent with a 10-6 record, a 4.15 ERA, and a 1.38 WHIP. Heaney has struggled so far this season and this is a good opportunity for him to get back on track against an offense that's struggling as much as the Mariners.

The Rangers' offense has been nothing short of great to start the season. They are ninth in team batting average at .251 after finishing last season's top two with a .263 batting average. The offense is led by sluggers in Adolis Garcia, Marcus Semien, Josh Smith, and Corey Seager. Garcia and Smith lead the team in most of the batting categories. Garcia leads the way in batting average at .315, in home runs at six, in RBI at 22, and in total hits at 28. Smith leads in OBP at .395. The Rangers' offense can match up with anyone in the MLB and this will be the case in this game against the Mariners where Castillo has struggled at times this season.

Final Mariners-Rangers Prediction & Pick

The Rangers are the better offense in this game, but it's going to come down to pitching. Castillo is the better pitcher than Heaney this season. Expect the Rangers to cover and keep this game close, but the Mariners need a big win and should win in this game thanks to Castillo on the mound in conjunction with an offense that can take advantage of Heaney.

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Final Mariners-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Rangers +1.5 (-162)