First pitch: Wednesday, 10:05 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles -120, Seattle +110, Total: 8

The Mariners look to pull a game closer in the Wild Card race on Wednesday as they visit the Angels, who are the best team in the league.

Seattle sits one game out of a playoff spot, but has been faltering somewhat of late, losing six of the past nine games. The M's had no trouble against the Angels on Tuesday night though, crushing them for 14 hits in a 13-2 victory. In the win, 10 different players had a hit while they were collectively 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position. The leader of the team is 2B Robinson Cano (.321 BA), who has four multi-hit games in his past 10 contests while going 12-for-36 (.333) with two doubles, two homers and 5 RBI. L.A. has been the best team in baseball over the second half of the year and comes into this one with victories in 10 of its past 12 games. The Angels have clinched a playoff berth with their tremendous play, but could not put it together on Tuesday as they managed a mere six hits while going 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. With a current seven-game hitting streak, 3B David Freese (.261 BA) is coming on at the right time, and is 9-for-24 (.375) with two homers and 7 RBI during the streak. Getting the call for Seattle to start this game will be LHP James Paxton (6-2, 1.83 ERA) as he goes up against LHP C.J. Wilson (12-9, 4.61 ERA) of the host Angels. The Mariners have actually been one of the best road teams in baseball with a 43-29 (.597) record, while Los Angeles is the first team to win 50 games (50-26) in its home stadium in 2014. The matchup between these clubs has been rather close over the past three seasons with the Angels holding a 28-24 (.538) edge while going 14-12 this season. With the team being so hot in the second half of this season, L.A. has rattled off four wins in its past five chances against the Mariners. Trends show that Seattle is 10-1 in night games when James Paxton is pitching, but the club is a woeful 3-12 after nine consecutive games versus division rivals this year. Neither team has any significant injuries to offensive players going into this game.

James Paxton has been excellent this year in his 10 starts, as he has paired his average strikeout rate (7.1 K/9) with a mere 2.9 BB/9. He has also been able to keep batters from making solid contact, as they have just three homers in his 59 frames (0.46 HR/9). Paxton has been rather lucky though, with batters hitting .255 BABIP, while he has left 80.3% of his runners on base, putting his FIP (fielder independent pitching) at 3.19. He has yet to allow more than three earned runs in any of his outings in 2014, and has given up one or fewer runs in seven of 10 starts. Paxton actually started off the season with two April starts against the Angels, going 2-0 while allowing three runs on eight base-runners (6 hits, 2 walks) and striking out 13 batters. He did allow two homers in the second game, one off the bat of 3B David Freese (2-for-6, 1 RBI) and the other from future Hall-of-Famer 1B Albert Pujols (1-for-5, 2 RBI) while OF Mike Trout is 2-for-4 in the matchup with a double. Meanwhile, OF Josh Hamilton, C Chris Iannetta, 2B Howie Kendrick and SS Erick Aybar are a combined 0-for-18 with eight strikeouts against the lefty. The Mariners bullpen has been phenomenal with a league-leading 2.36 ERA and excellent 1.13 WHIP, and has gone 22-20 and saved 49-of-59 (81%) games. Closer Fernando Rodney (2.60 ERA, 45 saves) has struck out 10 batters per nine innings while allowing a single home run in 62.1 innings (0.14 HR/9) and is the AL leader in saves.

C.J. Wilson has really struggled in 2014, as his ERA has jumped over 4.00 for the first time since 2008 since he cannot find any sort of control (4.2 BB/9). In the past, one of Wilson’s best attributes was his ability to keep the ball in the park, and while his 0.94 HR/9 rate this year is not horrible, it is his highest mark in six seasons. His control issues have led to shorter outings, as Wilson has not pitched more than 6.2 frames since his June 19 outing (13 starts). Over his 10-year career, Wilson has faced Seattle a wealth of times, gong 9-6 (13-6 team record) with a 3.42 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, but has lost his past starts times against them, including twice this year. Both 2B Robinson Cano (11-for-34, 2 doubles, 1 RBI) and 1B Kendrys Morales (10-for-23, 1 HR, 2 RBI) have done well in their at-bats against the veteran lefty, while 3B Kyle Seager (3-for-28, 13 Ks) and OF Dustin Ackley (5-for-24, 3 K's) have been left shaking their heads in the majority of their at-bats in this matchup. The relievers on the club have gone 30-19 (.612) this season with a 3.47 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, and are 43-for-59 (73%) in save chances. Huston Street (1.31 ERA, 38 saves) was a great grab for this team and is 14-for-16 in his save opportunities with his new club, while sporting a 1.64 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, while striking out 7.4 batters per nine innings.