Seattle Mariners vs. Chicago White Sox – Game 1 of Doubleheader

Seattle Mariners vs. Chicago White Sox 5:05 ET

After the first game of this sports betting series was washed away last night, the Seattle Mariners (12-7 +$595) and Chicago White Sox (9-9 -$5) will partake in a twin bill starting today at 5:05 ET. Seattle has gotten off to a solid start to its 2009 MLB betting campaign. They enter today’s contests with the Palehose off back-to-back series wins against the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles of Anaheim. They’ve earned a shade under $600 overall for baseball bettors to date, and enter today’s games at US Cellular Field as the best visiting team in the American League having won seven of their first 10 road games to reel in upwards of $500 on the season. Things haven’t gone as well for the host White Sox. They’ve split their first 18 overall games thus far, and are coming off yet another home series loss; this time against the Toronto Blue Jays. Chicago was one of the best home $$$-makers in 2008, but that hasn’t been the case in ’09. Surprisingly, they’ve dropped two of the three series they’ve hosted to cost baseball bettors $235 on the year.

The first game of the doubleheader finds lefty John Danks and the White Sox set as -130 home favorites; the game ‘total’ has been set at 8 over -120. Chicago dominated Seattle last year, but name a team that didn’t. They won five of the six overall match-ups, which included a three-game sweep at “The Cell.”

Felix Hernandez will toe the bump for the fifth time this season. He enters this afternoon’s start a perfect 3-0 on the year with a 3.12 ERA and 1.23 WHIP allowing just 23 hits and nine earned runs with a K/BB ratio of 27/9 through 26 total innings of work. He’s coming off a stellar outing at Safeco Field against Tampa Bay in a game the M’s won 1-0. He limited the Rays to just four hits and no runs while striking out seven and walking three through seven innings of work. He was roughed up in his lone start against the Chi Sox last season, and in his career, is 1-2 with a 5.72 ERA and 1.66 WHIP against Manager Ozzie Guillen’s club.

John Danks is quickly becoming one of the more dominant south paws in the entire league. He’s 2-0 on the year with a paltry 0.95 ERA and 0.84 WHIP and has allowed just nine hits and a pair of earned runs throughout his first 19 innings of work in 2009. He didn’t think he had his best stuff his last time out against Baltimore, yet he limited the Orioles potent offense to just four hits and one earned run with a K/BB ratio of 3-0 through seven strong innings of work. The M’s are one of the few AL teams Danks is yet to defeat in his young career. He’s 0-3 with a lofty 7+ ERA in three career starts against the M’s, but those starts came in his rookie season back in ’07.

If you like pitching, then this is a can’t miss battle between two rising stars. Both Hernandez and Danks have been filthy to start the year, and I see no reason to believe they don’t continue to be in this spot. Hernandez has already proven to be up to the task of competing in a pitcher’s duel after he and James Shields went pitch-for-pitch his last time out. Now its Danks’ turn…

Rose’s Recommendation: 3* Seattle/Chicago Under 8 +100

(Rating Scale: 1* – 5*)