Mariners’ Cling To Hope Of Wildcard Vs. Angels

Although unlikely, it is still possible for the Seattle Mariners to make it into the playoffs. They will have to play perfect baseball in order to do so and some other stars will have to align, of course, primarily, Kansas City and-or Oakland losing some games.

Seattle needs to win these last three regular season games of baseball. Standing in their way is the Los Angeles Angels, who they will play those last three games against.

The Mariners had their recent five-game hot streak broken by the Toronto Blue Jays. A win today could pull the Mariners within two games of taking the second AL Wild Card spot away from the A’s.

The Angels have clinched their division so will be seeing some postseason play. They may not have a lot to lose, which could work in the Mariners favor.

Seattle will be giving Hisashi Iwakuma the ball. Iwakuma started the season as the Mariners’ No. 2 guy on the mound, only behind Felix Hernandez. In his last six starts, though, he has posted a 9.12 ERA. He has not gone deeper than five innings in four of those starts.

To put in perspective the size of the rut Iwakuma is in, he has walked eight batters in those six starts. Prior to this rough patch he walked only seven in 15 starts.

Jered Weaver is scheduled to take the mound for the Angels and is on a hot streak, with a 2.72 ERA but illness may see him sitting this one out. If that is the case then Cory Rasmus would pick up pitching duties for the Angels.

Weaver leads the AL in wins and had two of his best season starts in his last two games where he has given up only four runs over 14 innings.

The Mariners are the favorites to win this one with a moneyline set at –136 compared to the Angels moneyline of +126. The total runs are set at 6.5, which both Seattle and LA have covered in their last outings. The game starts at 10:10 p.m. ET.