The hopes of the Seattle Mariners of making the postseason for the first time in 20 years took a big blow on Friday in a 2-1 loss at home to the Los Angeles Angels. They can’t sulk in the corner, though, as they desperately need a win in order to help their dim playoff chances alive. With that said, it’s time to check out our Angels-Mariners prediction and preview piece which also has the odds and pick for this game.
Here’s how the bookmakers have set the lines for Saturday’s game.
MLB Odds: Angels-Mariners Odds
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Los Angeles Angels +1.5 (-135)
Seattle Mariners -1.5 (+115)
Over 8.0 runs (-115)
Under 8.0 runs (-105)
Why the Angels Could Cover
There is nothing meaningful on the line for the Angels in this series against Seattle, but it would definitely be sweet for lefty Jhonathan Diaz if he could take another win this season at the expense of the Mariners. Diaz made his second appearance of the season on Sep. 25, as he went on an extended relief job that lasted seven innings.
During that stretch, he allowed just an earned run on three hits and struck out four in a 14-1 victory at home. Obviously, he was able to pitch comfortably because the Mariners’ offense provided him a bunch of runs to work with. It’s unlikely Diaz will get that many runs again behind him, but the Halos can expect him to silence Seattle’s bats anew. The Mariners’ offense has been struggling against lefty pitchers all season long. In fact, Seattle is in the bottom 10 in the majors against southpaw pitchers in terms of batting average, on-base average, slugging, and on-base plus slugging.
Why the Mariners Could Cover
The Mariners seem to have the perfect pitcher for this game in the form of Chris Flexen. Although Flexen only has a 4.40 ERA in five starts last September, he was able to come away with a 3-1 record, because he was also fortunate to have a robust Seattle offense backing him up with 6.91 runs per nine innings during those games.
In his last start, Flexen was able to score a win despite giving up four earned runs on seven hits in five innings of a 13-4 victory at home over the Oakland A’s on Sep. 27. Flexen also does seem to have the number of the Angels. This season, he is 2-0 with only four earned runs surrendered on four hits to go with eight strikeouts in 18.0 total innings across three appearances (two starts) opposite the Halos. Moreover, the current Angels hitters have a collective batting average of .217. Everybody loves Shohei Ohtani, but he’s only hitting .143 (1-of-7) against Flexen all-time.
Final Angels-Mariners Prediction & Pick
The Mariners cooled off at a very bad time, but the burning desire to win is certainly still there for the team because they can’t afford to lose this game. At the same time, the Mariners are also facing a lefty again. In the series opener, Angels southpaw Jose Suarez allowed just an earned run on three hits in five innings before LA’s bullpen finished the job. Seattle’s got the tasty narrative, but take the Angels to win again in the second game of the series.
FINAL PICK: Angels +1.5 (-135)
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