Los Angeles Angels vs. Seattle Mariners May 26 Free Pick

By MLB

The bloody losing streak is over and done with after yesterday’s under prevailed by a single run in Anaheim. But that’s a small battle within the entire scope of the Major League Baseball season.

Happy Memorial Day to all. I hope you all get some time to reflect on the importance of the day and also take in some day baseball on the holiday! Our play today will go off in Seattle in game one of a series between the Mariners and those same Angels from yesterday’s winner. And it features two starting pitchers who have made terrific starts for new their new clubs in 2014. Chris Young goes for the home side against young Tyler Skaggs for Los Angeles. The Angels are a -125 favorite with a total of just 7.5 runs.

Free Pick

The Angels did drop one game in their series with Kansas City over the weekend. But other than that, the Halos are rolling. Many people are surprised to realize that Mike Trout leads the American League in strikeouts. He will continue to K a lot, but he has been scuffling mightily in May. Well, at least up until the last four games. Trout has bumped his batting average up 17 points since May 19. And in those four games he has 7 hits in 15 at-bats and even walked twice yesterday. He’s also struck out just once. The Angels have other weapons aside from just Trout, but when he’s hitting, the entire lineup becomes exponentially more dangerous. And he certainly is hitting right now. Chris Young will have his work cut out for him pitching at home today and he has begun to show signs of regression after a phenomenal start with Seattle. Young’s WHIP still sits at 1.20, but he’s allowed double-digit base runners in each of his last two outings. They are also his only two losses on the season and elevated his ERA by nearly a full run. It’s great to see Chris Young throwing well again, but it’s tough to imagine him keeping up the pace he’s began this season with. And the Angels should take advantage on the road tomorrow. trout

Meanwhile, Tyler Skaggs continues to dominate opponents for LA after coming over from Arizona. Many people still haven’t seen Skaggs pitch, but he’s pretty filthy. I liken him to a poor man’s Chris Sale. And he’s pitching like that so far. Skaggs has posted a WHIP of just 1.13 this season and has struck out nearly three times as many batters as he’s walked. The Mariners are coming off a weekend series where they dropped two of three at home to the Astros, and that lineup has kind of just sat in that in-between stage of development where it hasn’t reached the potential some pegged it as having. But it hasn’t been a complete disaster either. Robinson Cano has been red-hot this month, but you’ve got to think his life will be tough tomorrow going up against a pretty brutal lefty.

All in all, tomorrow’s matchup will be tough for Seattle. I’ll continue to fade Chris Young until he’s priced accordingly, and Skaggs almost always offers some nice value as a young stud

Free Pick: Los Angeles (-125)

2014 YTD: 18-11 +4.53


Leave a Comment