The St. Louis Cardinals (8-12) and Seattle Mariners (9-11) meet Saturday for game 2 of a 3-game series. First pitch from T-Mobile Park is set for 9:40 p.m. ET.

Season series: Seattle leads 1-0

St. Louis lost 5-2 in the series opener Friday despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning thanks to a OF Jordan Walker double that scored 2. LHP Steven Matz moved to 0-3 on the season after allowing 4 ER in 5 1/3 IP.

The victory snapped a 3-game losing skid for the Mariners. OF Teoscar Hernandez had a big game scoring 3 runs including a solo home run in the 4th inning that tied the game up for Seattle. DH AJ Pollock and OF Jarred Kelenic each contributed 2 RBIs.

Cardinals at Mariners projected starters

RHP Miles Mikolas vs. RHP Luis Castillo

Mikolas (0-1 8.10 ERA) makes his 5th start. He has a 2.05 WHIP 2.3 BB/9 and 8.6 K/9 through 20 IP.

• Went 6-10 with a 4.10 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with 49 ER on 106 H and 24 BB with 84 K across 107 2/3 IP in 18 starts and 1 relief appearance on the road last season
• Hasn’t faced the Mariners since 2014 as a member of the Texas Rangers

Castillo (2-0 0.73 ERA) makes his 5th start. He has a 0.61 WHIP 1.5 BB/9 and 9.5 K/9 through 24 2/3 IP.

• Went 4-1 in 12 home starts last year. He had a 2.69 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 80 strikeouts allowing 22 earned runs on 52 hits and 20 walks
• Allowed 4 earned runs on 8 hits and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts in a 6-4 no-decision loss in his last appearance vs. St. Louis on Sept. 11 2021 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds

Cardinals at Mariners odds

• Moneyline (ML): Cardinals +135 (bet $100 to win $135) | Mariners -160 (bet $160 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals +1.5 (-155) | Mariners -1.5 (+125)
• Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -120 | U: +100)

Cardinals at Mariners picks and predictions

Prediction

Mariners 3 Cardinals 2

Moneyline

BET MARINERS (-160).

These teams are so evenly matched and rarely face each other but the Mariners have a clear advantage with Castillo starting. Mikolas has not looked like himself to start the season for the Cardinals and Castillo has looked like one of the top pitchers in baseball. The Mariners are also 4-0 in their last 4 interleague games vs. teams with a losing record.

Run line/Against the spread

LEAN CARDINALS +1.5 (-155).

The pitching for Seattle will make it hard for St. Louis to win especially with their lackluster bullpen but the talent of the Cardinals should be enough to make this game close.

Over/Under

BET UNDER 7.5 (+100).

The Under is 3-0-1 in St. Louis’ last 4 Saturday games and 5-0 in their last 5 games after scoring 2 runs or fewer in their previous game.

The Under is 8-0 in Castillo’s last 8 starts coming off 5 or more days of rest.

The Under is also 3-0-1 in the last 4 meetings between these squads.