This will be the second game of the weekend series at Angel Stadium between the Mariners and Angels.
Luis Castillo is scheduled to pitch for Seattle, while Jack Kochanowicz will take the mound for Los Angeles.
Mariners at Angels prediction, preview
Luis Castillo is off to a great start to the season. This will be Castillo’s third full season in Seattle, and he is on pace to have the best numbers of his Mariners tenure. In fact, Castillo’s 3.03 ERA would be the second-best season-long ERA of his career. Castillo’s strikeout numbers are down, averaging just 7.2 K/9 after averaging at least 9.0 K/9 each of the past six seasons. While Castillo’s velocity and aggressiveness have dropped, leading to fewer strikeouts, his discipline has improved. Castillo used to be known for roller-coaster starts, where he would throw 10 strikeouts but also give up two home runs. His game has been much more consistent this season, going at least five innings in every start but one. He has more shutout performances this season than he does starts where he gave up more than three runs. In Castillo’s past four starts, he has a 1.44 ERA and 22 strikeouts.
Jack Kochanowicz is in his second season in the MLB after starting 11 games in 2024. He has struggled to get in any sort of rhythm so far this season. He has a 5.34 ERA through 12 starts and is striking out just 6.4 batters per nine innings. He has already faced Seattle once this season and gave up three runs in six innings of work. Kochanowicz has given up at least four runs in each of his past three starts, including his most recent start, where he survived just 3.2 innings against Cleveland. The Mariners should be able to get runs up on the board against Kochanowicz in this Saturday night matchup.
Mariners at Angels pick, best bet
The Mariners have a major pitching edge with Luis Castillo over Jack Kochanowicz. The Mariners also have an edge when it comes to their lineup. The Angels have struck out the third-most times of any team in baseball and rank 19th in runs scored. Seattle ranks 14th in team OPS, compared to the Angels, who rank 20th. Castillo should be able to keep up his hot run of form against the Angels and give the Mariners a few great innings. If the Seattle offense is having a good day, it should be able to get a few runs on Jack Kochanowicz. Once it gets to the bullpens, things get even worse for the Angels. They have a 5.67 bullpen ERA, the third-worst mark in baseball. Meanwhile, Seattle has a 3.75 bullpen ERA, a mark that has it in the top half of the MLB. The Mariners should have a good performance on Saturday night and beat the Angels by at least two runs.
