Los Angeles @ Seattle preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 9, 2014 ) LA Angels 2, Seattle 0

The Los Angeles Angels are winners of 12 of their last 16 games and matched a season best by pulling seven games over .500 with a victory on Sunday. The Angels will try to maintain their strong play when they open up a 10-game road trip at the Seattle Mariners on Monday. The Mariners split a four-game set with the Houston Astros over the weekend but dropped the final two contests as the starting pitching struggled.

The back-to-back losses dropped Seattle a game under .500 and the offense showed little punch while managing four hits in Sunday’s 4-1 setback. The Mariners had much better success with the bats in outscoring the Angels 26-8 during a three-game sweep to begin the regular season and have taken four of the five meetings between the division rivals in 2014. Los Angeles is not the same team that limped out of the gate in the first week and is one of the hottest teams in baseball with victories in five straight series.

TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), ROOT (Seattle)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels LH Tyler Skaggs (4-1, 4.14 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Chris Young (3-2, 3.53)

Skaggs bounced back from a rough stretch with one of his best performances on Tuesday, limiting the Astros to one run in seven innings to pick up the win. The 22-year-old is battling some inconsistency and surrendered five runs on eight hits in his previous outing. Skaggs will be making his first career appearance against Seattle and is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA in three starts on the road this season.

Young’s career resurrection was coming along strong until hitting a snag over the last two turns. The 35-year-old, who missed all of 2013 due to injury, has allowed nine runs on 17 hits while notching only one strikeout in a combined 13 1/3 innings over his last two outings. Young will be making his first start against the Angels this season and does not have much of a track record against the current lineup, though Raul Ibanez is 10-for-35 against the veteran.

WALK-OFFS

1. Angels CF Mike Trout went 5-for-12 with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored in the three-game series against the Royals.

2. Seattle 3B Kyle Seager is 5-for-10 with a triple and four RBIs in the last three games.

3. Los Angeles C Chris Iannetta homered in each of his last two starts.

PREDICTION: Angels 9, Mariners 4