Chris Boline
• Mariners vs. Angels
• Wednesday, April 5 at 10 PM ET
• T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington
One of the more underrated rivalries in the American League has to be the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners. We’ve seen fantastic matchups between these two clubs in recent years, especially with the emergence of both Mike Trout and Julio Rodriguez. This week in the Pacific Northwest, people can’t wait for the AL West sides to meet for what should be a fun series. And right now, the Angels are favored over the Mariners with Shohei Ohtani pitching on Wednesday.
This will be the series finale, and Ohtani will surely look to make a statement in this one. Not only that, but both teams are going to be hungry to post a victory before they move on to their next series. For the Angels, they haven’t lived up to the hype in recent seasons, which has been disappointing to see. They missed out on the playoffs last year, which no one thought would be possible with both Ohtani and Trout being on their roster.
| Angels/Mariners odds |  |  |  |  |
| Angels to win | -105 | -105 | -105 | -105 |
| Mariners to win | +115 | +115 | +115 | +115 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
As for the Mariners, they defied the MLB betting odds last year, punching their ticket to the postseason for the first time since 2001. Seattle went on to upset the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Wild Card Round as well. However, they ultimately lost to the Houston Astros, who went on to win the World Series. Seattle has been a bit inconsistent at the plate to start the new season, but they’ll hope to change things vs. LA.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Angels hold -105 odds to take down the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Seattle holds +115 odds, as plenty of people think they’ll be able to grab a win in front of their home fans. With Ohtani pitching, though, we think the Angels will hold the advantage. Sorry, Seattle fans, but we’re going with the Angels as our pick for this one.
Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani go BACK-TO-BACK for both of their first home runs of the season! pic.twitter.com/5QIfRYclSH
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 2, 2023
This Angels-Mariners game should be a low-scoring one
It goes without saying, but this Angels-Mariners game should be a low-scoring one. Why, you ask? In addition to Ohtani taking the mound, Chris Flexen will be starting for the Mariners. Flexen got off to a strong start for the season, as he impressed during his first start – which came against the Cleveland Guardians last week. With how strong Flexen looked, it has a lot of people excited about his potential.
In his first start vs. Cleveland, Flexen allowed one run and one hit in four innings of work. He was clearly on a pitch count to start the year, but that turned out to be a wise decision from manager Scott Servais. As the season progresses, Flexen will be out there for more innings per start, which is bad news for opposing hitters. He’s feeling pretty good about things too leading up to his next start.
Time to write our next chapter. #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/3E4paP8h7Q
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 30, 2023
“Flexen is throwing the ball really well,” Servais said in a recent interview. “His stuff is up velocity wise, the crispness of it. He’s throwing strikes. He’s been one of our better guys at dominating the zone. He just wasn’t as good last year as he was his first year with us in the strike zone and being in the right counts. That’s where his focus has been and he’s done a nice job with it. He looks really good.”
Flexen has what it takes to post a big night vs. the Angels. With Ohtani on the bump as well, it could be a long night for both lineups. Per the oddsmakers, the over/under has been set at 6.5 runs, which isn’t a surprise at all. We think Ohtani could toss 7-8 innings in this one and Flexen will potentially go 6-7 innings as well. Because of this, we’re going with the under as our pick with the -110 odds.
Will Julio Rodriguez be able to hit a home run vs. the Angels?
A question people have on their minds – will Julio Rodriguez be able to hit a home run vs. the Angels? On Sunday in a tough loss against Cleveland, J-Rod hit his first season of the year and everyone in Seattle was thrilled with the huge hit. Rodriguez is coming off an amazing first year in the bigs, as he took home AL Rookie of the Year honors. In his sophomore campaign, many more dingers are expected from him.
However, things are going to be tough for No. 44 on Wednesday as he’s going to be facing Ohtani. Ohtani has solidified himself as one of the top starters in the majors. Ohtani entered ’23 with plenty of swagger, as he helped Japan win the World Baseball Classic. In the final vs. the United States, he struck Trout out to seal the victory. That at-bat is going to be talked about for a while. Now, Ohtani is the favorite to win AL MVP and rightfully so.
With Ohtani’s next start coming against the Mariners, LA fans are ready to see him post an impressive start. This will include some showdowns with Rodriguez, one of the most exciting young hitters out there. Rodriguez holds +950 odds to hit a home run on Wednesday in the series finale, but we don’t think he’ll get the job done. We’re picking against Rodriguez in this case.
