Odds and Bets: Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners Start a Huge Series

Seattle Mariners vs Baltimore Orioles

Don’t look now, but the Seattle Mariners (62-52) have won seven games in a row and nine of ten. They’ve jumped from being a club meandering around .500 to one that’s ten games over. This weekend they host the Baltimore Orioles (71-44), the team with the best record in the American League. Baltimore avoided a sweep at home by defeating the Houston Astros on Thursday.

With Seattle’s rise, this series just got a lot more intriguing than it sounded barely a couple of weeks ago. Baltimore is going with ace Kyle Gibson (11-6, 4.50 ERA) whereas Seattle will attempt to defend their home diamond with Luis Castillo (7-7, 3.21 ERA). The Mariners have stymied clubs during their run, limiting teams to three points or fewer in eight of their last ten. Can pitching cool off the Orioles’ Austin Hays? A big determining factor is that Baltimore is clearly the best team the Mariners have faced over the past few weeks. This will be a real test.

Best Bet: Baltimore Orioles on the moneyline

Saskatchewan Roughriders vs Montreal Alouettes

Week 10 in the CFL continues on Friday night when the Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-4) make their only trip to Montreal this year to tussle with the Alouettes (4-3). Officially, Montreal QB Cody Fajardo is listed as available, but there is a slight chance he could miss the contest or be limited in action. Montreal’s main RB William Stanback is questionable. Saskatchewan continues to navigate waters with Mason Fine under centre. A fun subplot to Friday’s game is that Fajardo was in Saskatchewan last season, so these two QBs know each other well.

The Roughriders aren’t a great offence, even less so since Trevor Harris went out weeks ago with an injury. In theory, this is a big problem because Montreal is equipped with one of the best defences in the CFL, having only conceded 143 points in seven matches (20.4 a contest). They aren’t super exciting when they have the ball, but it’s especially difficult to score on them. The total is set at 44.5 and the under has a very good chance at earning the spoils.

Best Bet: Take the under on 44.5

Australia vs France

The Women’s World Cup quarter-finals have already witnessed two highly intriguing, breathtaking matches. Sweden eliminated Japan 2-1, making them the de facto highest-ranked nation remaining in the tournament. Spain downed the Netherlands 2-1 in extra time, a match with no shortage of drama.

Saturday morning (ET) puts the spotlight on the pleasantly efficient host nation Australia against one of the world’s great footballing countries, France. Le Bleues demolished Morocco 4-0, quelling any remaining doubts about the team’s credentials. The Matildas handled Denmark 2-0 in yet another impressive and highly cohesive performance. France have gone from being a team that struggled offensively early in the tournament to one that seems to put the ball in the back of the net with their eyes closed. Kadidiatou Diani leads the charge with four markers. For Australia, Hayley Raso is both the scoring leader (three) and their inspiration, as she’s putting her stamp on the world stage after an injury in 2018 had her doubting if she’d ever walk again. This is an extremely difficult match to predict. We’ll take the talent and experience over the feel-good story, if only barely.

Best Bet: France in a penalty shootout