It’s a battle of lefties later tonight, as the Los Angeles Angels (46-39) send Hector Santiago to the mound for Game 2 of their four-game set against the Seattle Mariners (40-46). Seattle, meanwhile, looks to cool down the streaking Angels when they give the ball to rookie Mike Montgomery.
For more baseball previews, you can click here for our breakdown of St. Louis vs. Pittsburgh and here for Houston vs. Tampa Bay.
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Los Angeles Angels vs. Seattle Mariners Preview
Where: Safeco Field, Seattle
When: Friday, July 10, 2015, 10:10 PM ET
Line: Los Angeles Angels (+108) vs. Seattle Mariners (-118); total: 7.0 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Los Angeles Angels
[sc:MLB240banner ]Although he wasn’t named an All-Star this season, Hector Santiago still has so much to feel good about this season. Against the Mariners later tonight, Santiago can add more to his impressive first half performance as he attempts to tie his career high of six wins and lower his already solid 2.40 ERA.
Santiago was dominant in his most recent start, wherein he held the Rangers scoreless for seven innings, allowing just three hits and issuing a walk in the Halos’ 13-0 win last Saturday. A start prior to the Texas game, Santiago faced the Mariners, pitching for seven innings and yielding just one run on three hits. Although he received a no-decision, Santiago did enough to help LA earn a 3-2 victory.
With the Angels averaging 8.3 run over their last three games, Santiago hopes that he’ll get better run support to complement his strong pitching this time around against Seattle.
Behind Santiago later tonight are Erick Aybar and David Freese, who are both on a tear of late. Over their respective past five games, Aybar has hit .524 (11-for-21) while Freese batter .421 (8-for-19). Cleanup hitter and All-Star-bound Albert Pujols, meanwhile, has had quite a five-game stretch, too, batting .273 (6-for-22) with two homers and seven RBIs.
The under is 3-1 in Santiago’s last three road starts.
Looks like the Mariners have a new ace in their rotation in the form of rookie sensation Mike Montgomery. Montgomery is having a special season, as the Mariners’ rookie has already compiled a 4-2 record and a 1.62 ERA in seven starts thus far this year. Not bad for a pitcher who only got a starting gig after Hisashi Iwakuma and James Paxton went out due to injuries.
Montgomery showed how special he is over his last three starts, as he allowed just one earned run (a homer) in 23.2 total innings during that stretch. That run includes back-to-back complete game shutouts against the Royals (7-0 win on June 23) and the Padres (5-0 win on June 30).
In his most recent outing, he pitched for just five plus innings but yielded only one run on six hits in the Mariners’ 2-1 victory over Oakland last Thursday. Montgomery will have to be in the same elite form he’s flashed in his recent starts when he takes on the Angels, a team that has been smoldering at the plate of late.
Of course, it’ll help Montgomery if Seattle’s offense shows up later tonight. Seattle has been very inconsistent at the plate this season. The M’s are the worst hitting team in the majors today with an ugly batting average of .231 and an equally awful on-base percentage of .293. They have 90 homers, though, this season, which means that at least they have their power intact.
Nelson Cruz is batting .261 (6-for-23) with a homer over his last six games, while Robinson Cano is 9-for-26 (.346) with a homer during the same stretch. It’s likely, however, that both sluggers won’t have Austin Jackson hitting in front of them, as the Mariners outfielder is suffering from back spasms and may sit out tonight’s ball game.
