The Seattle Mariners came from behind in glorious fashion on Friday to take their fifth straight game and a seventh in eight tries at home. Now, they’ll step to a flamethrower on Saturday as they aim to clinch a series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
We’ll explain in our Rays vs Mariners predictions why this could be a favorable matchup for Seattle at the plate in what could be a rare high-scoring affair at this park.
Without further ado, let’s hand out some MLB picks for Saturday, August 9.
Rays vs Mariners prediction
Rays vs Mariners best bet: Over 8 (-104 at FanDuel)
Joe Boyle seems to be everyone’s favorite diamond in the rough. He throws absolute gas, topping out in triple digits on the fastball, and after punching out 32.9% of the batters he faced down in Triple-A, he’s proven his strikeout stuff is very legitimate.
The thing that’s held Boyle back, of course, and the reason the Athletics ultimately traded him, is walks. He posted a poor 10.6% walk rate down on the farm this season, and in his first 27 1/3 innings at this level in 2025, he’s walked 10.2%.
It’s certainly not an encouraging sign, particularly with his strikeout rate still sitting at a pedestrian 24.1% on account of the tougher competition. Still, at the very least, it’s better than his 17.7% walk rate in 47 2/3 innings a year ago.
Boyle generates a lot of whiffs and fly balls, but his location is still a work in progress. He’ll be in for a decent matchup on Saturday, however, pitching to a Seattle Mariners team that has seen its strikeout issues rear their gnarly head again in the last two weeks.
Seattle does hit for a decent amount of power, however, and despite striking out at a brutal 24.9% clip, its walk rate is at least up at 9.1% over the last two weeks. One interesting note, too, is that while the Mariners’ home run-to-fly ball ratio has certainly been lower at home, it still sits near the top of the leaderboard at 12.7%.
For the season, it’s running a 14.1% ratio, which is fifth in the league.
That would indicate to me that Boyle’s issues with walks and well-struck fly balls should be present here, and on the other side, there’s not a ton we need to cover about Logan Evans. He’s been brutal this year, and while he’s at least pitching to a decent 25% fly-ball rate inside a park where you generally want fly balls, he’s hardly missed bats, and his Expected Batting Average stands at .293.
The Tampa Bay Rays may be cold at the plate right now, but this team can still hit for a little power – and if not for abysmal plate discipline numbers it would be looking a lot better. Evans is striking out very few batters, and he’s throwing a lot of hittable strikes – making the call on the Over here an easy one.
Rays vs Mariners same-game parlay (SGP)
Over 8
Logan Evans Over 3.5 strikeouts
J.P. Crawford 1+ hits
I know I said Logan Evans lacks strikeout stuff, but this number is far too low for me not to jump on. The fact of the matter is, the righty has struck out at least three in all of his last four outings, and has only missed the mark one time – against the New York Yankees last month.
While he’s hit exactly three plenty of times, he’s shown he can get up over this total even in four or five innings. Tampa Bay is striking out an unsightly 27.4% clip right now over the last 14 days, and that’s enough for me to pull the trigger.
Then, I’ll go with a reliable option to get a hit – and that’s J.P. Crawford. The veteran shortstop is hitting .287 versus fly-ball pitchers this year, and has the second-most hits on the team in the split with 56 in total.
On top of that, he’s riding a three-game hitting streak, over which he’s notched four hits, and he singled in the only plate appearance he had versus Boyle in his career.
Rays vs Mariners odds
Rays vs Mariners live odds
Rays vs Mariners opening odds
- Moneyline: Tampa Bay +110 | Seattle -130
- Run line: Tampa Bay +1.5 (-185) | Seattle -1.5 (+155)
- Over/Under: Over 8 (-110) | Under 8 (-110)
Rays vs Mariners trend
The Seattle Mariners have hit the Team Total Under in 25 of their last 42 games at home (+5.75 Units / 12% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Mariners.
How to watch Rays vs Mariners and game info
| Location | T-Mobile Park, Seattle, WA |
| Date | Saturday, August 9, 2025 |
| First pitch | 9:40 p.m. ET |
| TV | FDSNSUN, RSNW |
| Rays starting pitcher | Joe Boyle (1-1, 2.30 ERA) |
| Mariners starting pitcher | Logan Evans (5-4, 4.30 ERA) |
Rays vs Mariners latest injuries
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Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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