The Mariners are very hot in August, now earning a share of first in their division. They crushed the Royals last night and were able to rest their top relievers in that game. Castillo has pitched well this season but especially at home. He struggled somewhat vs the Royals just a couple of starts ago giving up 4 runs over 7 innings, but based on past performance is a good candidate to improve on that performance. He'll face Royals' rookie Marsh, who has pitched effectively in his last appearances, including against the Mariners recently. He has been limited to about 5 innings in length, allowing plenty of access to the Royals' faulty bullpen.

KC is 9-15 in August and exceptionally poor vs right-handers. Their offense had a brief period in the limelight, but has sunk to .200 BA/.651 OPS over the last two weeks. Runs for and against tells the tale of these two teams. The Royals are 3.7/6.1 over their last 7 games; the M's are an amazing 9.0/3.7 , reflecting a .327 BA/1.003 OPS line. Take the Mariners to win by a solid margin at home. Seattle -1.5