The Seattle Mariners will look to take another game at Angel Stadium as they wrap up a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels tonight. The division rivals split the first two games with the Mariners shutting down the Halos in a 3-0 win last night. The Mariners will be sending out lefty James Paxton to contend with the Angels, who have been awful vs left-handed pitching this season with a .662 OPS (ranked 28th in MLB) and are 7-17 SU in 24 games against southpaw starters. As a result, the Mariners opened as slight favorites to steal another game in the City of Angels.
- The Mariners are 11-4 SU in their last 15 games.
- Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs had a 0.84 ERA in five June starts.
- The total has gone UNDER in five of the Angels’ last six games.
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Paxton has Emerged as Mariners’ Ace
The lefty Canuck is coming off a tough loss at home vs the Rockies last week where he allowed four earned runs on seven hits but on the road, he’s been excellent with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Those numbers have translated to the M’s winning seven of Paxton’s nine road starts this season. Pax has also pitched well against the Angels in his career with a 2.07 ERA in 11 starts. That figure gets even better when he takes the mound at Angel Stadium, with a 1.64 ERA in five starts.
In the other dugout, the Angels have activated Tyler Skaggs off the DL to face a Seattle squad that he limited to six hits and one earned run at the beginning of May. What may be most impressive for the lefty this season is how well he was throwing before his DL stint as he only allowed five earned runs in five starts in June and the Angels finished 4-1 SU and ATS in those games. Coming off an injury can be tricky for pitchers (and bettors’ trust) so it may be a worth a wait-and-see approach before feeling confident in backing the Halos.
Mariners Continue to Keep Pace with the Astros
Although the Mariners have had an up-and-down July (5-4 SU and 4-5 ATS), they still sit only 3.5 games back of the juggernaut Astros. Seattle is looking to break the longest playoff drought in North American sports and at this pace is at least set up for a wild-card spot. The M’s have been a different team this season and have owned this matchup as they’re 7-3 SU and ATS vs the Angels in 2018 and 7-3 SU in 10 road games vs divisional opponents.
It also doesn’t bode well for the Angels when you consider how they’ve fared vs left-handed pitching this season as Los Angeles is ranked 28th in OPS (.662), 29th in batting average (.220), 27th in total hits (172) and 29th in total RBIs (75).
UNDER Bettors profiting when Angels take the field
The total opened at 7.5 and the UNDER may be the best wager to make for this contest. The total has gone UNDER in five of the Angels’ last six games with an average combined score of 6.0 runs per game and it’s been noted how they’ve matched up with lefties this season. When you consider that the total has gone UNDER 7 in four straight starts for Paxton, it’s hard to envision a scorefest on the West Coast.
