Mariners Series Preview: M’s vs. Los Angeles Angels

After a tough opening series in Houston, the Mariners head to Anaheim to begin the season series with the Los Angeles Angels. After scoring a mere nine runs in the first four games of the season, the bats look to get back on track and get their stellar pitching some run support.

Probable Starting Pitchers

4/7  Jesse Chavez vs. Yovani Gallardo

4/8  Ricky Nolasco vs. Felix Hernandez

4/9  Matt Shoemaker vs. Hisashi Iwakuma

One of the biggest storylines going into this series surrounds Gallardo. After being acquired from the Orioles, Gallardo will make his highly anticipated Mariners debut in Anaheim.

Over the first four games of the season, M’s SP’s have allowed only six runs. Gallardo looks to continue that success against an Angels lineup that has scored 15 runs over their first three games.

Key Matchup

As we all know, the battles between Mike Trout and Felix Hernandez are some of the most exciting in baseball.

Trout has faced Hernandez more times than he’s faced any other pitcher in his career. Over 76 ABs, he’s hit .382 with 13 XBH, seven of those for home runs, and 19 RBI.

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He has homered vs. Hernandez more than any pitcher he has faced. Felix has struck him out 24 times, which is the most strikeouts vs. any batter in his career.

If the Mariners offense continues to be sub par, then Hernandez is going to have to keep Trout at bay if this club wants to walk away with a win Saturday night.

Predictions

After facing some tough pitching over the week in Houston, this weekend is the chance for the Mariner offense to break out.

The current M’s roster has a career .352 batting average against Jesse Chaves, who starts Friday night. Against Ricky Nolasco, the M’s are hitting .333. There’s no reason to think the M’s offense can’t finally come through the first couple of games in the series.

Related Story: Mariners Looking For Gallardo's Replacement Already?

Sunday may be a bit of a speed bump, though.

Mariners fans have a pretty good idea about Matt Shoemaker. Over his career, he has basically owned the M’s. They have hit only .270 against Shoemaker with only 15 XBH in 126 at bats. Hopefully, they catch him on one of his rough days.

Next: Mariners 3 up, 3 down

After a good team win Thursday night, the Mariners look to keep the momentum rolling into the weekend series in Anaheim.