With three games left to play in the 2014 regular season, the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels are fighting for position in the standings. The Angels have a chance to wrap up home-field advantage in the postseason while the Seattle Mariners are looking to wrap up a wild card spot for the playoffs. Both teams could use the sweep in the final weekend of the year.
The Angels beat the Mariners back in mid-September but have gone 3-4 since even though they just notched their 30th win in 42 games while going 10 for 11 on the road. They need to win Friday and have Baltimore lose if they want to get the home-field advantage. The Mariners finally snapped a near disastrous five-game losing streak on Thursday as they sit two games behind the Oakland Athletics for the wild card spot.
The Angels have been dealing with late-season injuries, but are still managing to compete for the top spot in the AL West. Josh Hamilton has been out for the past 19 of 20 games while Matt Shoemaker is also uncertain with an oblique strain. Mike Trout is sick, leaving Wednesday's game with a stomach ailment. He is currently batting .250 with 12 strikeouts in seven games.
Los Angeles will put Jered Weaver on the mound as he is 18-8 with a 3.52 ERA on the season, looking to earn his fourth straight start. In his last start, Weaver gave up just three runs while striking seven over seven innings. He is 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his last eight outings while being 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA against the Mariners in three starts this season.
The Mariners will be relying on Hisashi Iwakuma who is 14-9 with a 3.54 ERA on the year. However, he is struggling through his last three starts, putting up a 11.25 ERA in the process. He is 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA against the Angels before losing back on Sept. 15 when he gave up seven runs in three innings. The team is hoping that Iwakuma can regain his previous form while the bats match the success in order to get a leg up on Oakland.
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