Los Angeles Angels vs. Seattle Mariners Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 6/18/2022 (Game 1)

Time: 4:10 p.m. ET

Venue: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, WA

Where to watch: Bally Sports West, ROOTNW

DraftKings: NL

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: NL

Angels: 30-36

Mariners: 29-36

The Seattle Mariners are coming off an 8-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday in the start of their four-game series and will be trying to win the second after what was a dominant performance from Robbie Ray.

Things will get started in the first game of a doubleheader with Patrick Sandoval taking on Chris Flexen early in the afternoon.

There haven’t been enough instances this year where Ray has looked the part of his AL Cy Young campaign from Toronto a year ago. But on Friday night, Ray took a no-hit bid with two outs into the seventh inning, but lost the no-no after the ball went off his own glove.

That almost seems like something out of a movie at this rate, and then the bettor loses like $1 million for some stupid parlay because he chose to go with a no-hitter on that three-team card on this day.

"I think because I'm the one that caused it, and it was just such an easy play," Ray said of his reaction. "Yeah, it was just funny that's how it ended."

Ray got a chance to come back for the eighth but gave up a leadoff triple and allowed the first run of the game. At least that’s all that Seattle needed in that instance because the Mariners did the bulk of their damage through the first four innings, jumping out to a 7-0 lead.

Seattle totaled 11 hits with three of them coming off the bat of Julio Rodriguez and two of them from leading hitter Ty France. Ray finished with just three hits allowed in 102 pitches while striking out 10, certainly an effort that reminded people why the Mariners did what they did to get him.

"That ball is taking off," Mariners manager Scott Servais said of his ace’s recent performance. "It has a lot of movement. You can see the way hitters are reacting to it, and he's getting in the strike zone when he needs to. So, awesome job by him."

The loss was yet another instance where the Angels’ disappointing season continued. And to make matters worse – other than, you know, getting just four hits and having more errors (2) than runs – was that Anthony Rendon suffered his second significant season-ending injury since joining the Angels. A wrist injury will take the former World Series champion out for the remainder of the season, a blow that is another added to Mike Trout’s injury woes and leaving Shohei Ohtani on an island alone.

But hey, at least that’s what the Angels’ superstar got going for him when he won MVP last year. Now, there’s possibility that Ohtani might not remain in L.A. with his upcoming contract status and teams might find a way to pay him $50 million a year for the next few years.

Imagine Ohtani becoming a free agent and dealing with ridiculousness like that. That might be the closest thing we’ve ever had to LeBron James in baseball. Actually, sign me up for that and let’s see what happens. Broadcast The Decision II live from Japan, and see what kind of crowd that can generate.

I'm thinking the Angels find a way to win this first game. Getting swept in a doubleheader after getting blown out on Friday does not sound like a good way to get going. At the very least, the Angels find a way to win some games, this being the first step. Angels win 5-4

Angels are 3-12 in June and 18-23 in the month over the past three seasons.

Angels are 13-17 on the road this season.

Mariners are 5-10 against left-handed starters this season.

Mariners are 56-45 in day games the past three seasons.

Angels:
Taylor Ward (R) RF
Mike Trout (R) DH
Matt Duffy (R) 1B
Luis Rengifo (S) 2B
Max Stassi (R) C
Brandon Marsh (L) LF
Juan Lagares (R) CF
Andrew Velazquez (S) SS
Jack Mayfield (R) 3B
SP - Patrick Sandoval

Mariners:
J.P. Crawford (L) SS
Ty France (R) 1B
Julio Rodriguez (R) CF
Eugenio Suarez (R) 3B
Jesse Winker (L) DH
Justin Upton (R) LF
Adam Frazier (L) 2B
Cal Raleigh (S) C
Taylor Trammell (L) RF
SP - Chris Flexen