The Los Angeles Angels were building momentum after splitting a four-game set and winning a series against the Athletics and taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles but were just swept by the Seattle Mariners.
The Los Angeles Angels erased all of the momentum it was building and the ground it was making up in the American League West after failing to get a win over the Seattle Mariners.
The Angels had split a four-game series with the Athletics before taking two of three from them and the Baltimore Orioles prior to this huge divisional matchup with Seattle, getting as close as 5.5 games back from the division-leading Texas Rangers.
Los Angeles lost the series finale in a brutal 1-0 game to the Mariners on Thursday, and the only run scored was on a bases loaded walk issued by rookie right-hander Walbert Urena, who has been sharp this season.
Urena tossed 5.2 innings and allowed the one run on just one hit but four walks while striking out six. He was going toe-to-toe with Mariners righty Bryce Miller, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
Miller’s final line read as: seven innings, two hits, no walks, eight strikeouts. The 27-year-old has only appeared in nine games this season, but he has been lights-out, posting a 4-2 record with a 1.71 ERA and 0.66 WHIP while owning a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 62:5.
The Halos desperately need to get back in the win column and have a great opportunity to do so in the series opener against the Boston Red Sox, which occupy last place in the AL East.
Los Angeles will turn to left-hander Reid Detmers to be a stopper against Boston’s Jake Bennett, who has been quite good for the Red Sox in limited appearances.
Detmers has been a bright spot for the Angels and has earned the reputation of being a strikeout pitcher, producing 112 punchouts to 31 free passes through 17 starts (99.2 innings). He is 3-5 with a 3.88 ERA and 1.06 WHIP and has emerged as a potential trade candidate.
The 26-year-old last pitched against the Athletics and allowed two runs on four hits and three walks while fanning eight over 5.2 innings.
Bennett has made six starts this season and carries a 2-3 record, 3.27 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 25 strikeouts to seven walks in 33 innings of work. He was great against the scuffling New York Yankees his last time out, throwing 6.1 innings and allowing one run on three hits and two walks while punching out three.
First pitch is at 6:38 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.
