Wednesday MLB viewing guide: Mariners need a win vs. Angels

Seattle can’t afford to lose more ground in the AL Wild Card race.

Sep 17, 2014, 12:30 PM UTC

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Mariners are still well within reach of the AL Wild Card spots, but with a road trip that covers more than 6,000 miles, getting there won’t be an easy task.

Seattle dropped its first game of the trip, 8-1, on Monday and watched the Angels celebrate their clinching of a playoff berth. Perhaps that will be the motivation the Mariners need to fight through their long trip through Anaheim, Houston and Toronto. Of course, it helps that Seattle owns the league’s best road record and one of its hottest pitchers.

The Mariners, who entered the road trip 42-28 away from Safeco Field, send James Paxton to the hill for the third game of a four-game set against the AL West-leading Angels. Since returning from the disabled list on Aug. 2, Paxton owns a 1.72 ERA. Before his lengthy DL stint, he pitched in only two games, both of which were wins against the Angels. The 25-year-old left-hander struck out 13 batters in 12 innings while allowing only three runs in those two starts.

The Angels will counter with C.J. Wilson, who has walked more batters than any other pitcher in the American League, in addition to possessing a pedestrian 4.61 ERA.

Wednesday’s MLB schedule

Time (ET)	Game	TV	Reason to watch
3:10 p.m.	Dodgers at Rockies	MLB Network, SportsNet LA	The Dodgers need a win to avoid losing a series to the NL's worst team, but Jorge De La Rosa is 44-14 in his career at Coors Field.
3:40 p.m.	Giants at Diamondbacks	MLB Network, CSN Bay Area, FS Arizona	The Giants are inching closer to the Dodgers while maintaining a firm grasp on the top NL Wild Card spot.
7:05 p.m	Red Sox at Pirates	NESN, ROOT Pittsburgh	Clay Buchholz (2.10 ERA in last four starts) and Francisco Liriano (2.22 ERA since the All-Star break) are finding their 2013 form.
7:05 p.m.	Blue Jays at Orioles	Rogers Sportsnet, TVA Sports, MASN2	The O's have already clinched the division and are now playing for postseason home-field advantage.
7:10 p.m.	Marlins at Mets	FS Florida, SNY	Henderson Alvarez (2.81 ERA) is one of the most underrated starters in the league.
7:10 p.m.	Yankees at Rays	YES, Sun Sports	Alex Cobb flirted with a no-hitter in his last start against the Yankees and has dominated them during his career.
7:10 p.m.	Nationals at Braves	ESPN, MASN, SportSouth	The Braves are in a free fall, but Alex Wood (1.88 ERA since July 31) is not to blame.
8:05 p.m.	Reds at Cubs	FS Ohio, CSN Chicago	Kyle Hendricks (2.38 ERA) is a strong Rookie of the Year candidate.
8:10 p.m.	White Sox at Royals	WCIU, FS Kansas City	Chris Sale is pitching, duh.
8:10 p.m.	Indians at Astros	CSN Houston, SportsTime Ohio	Carlos Carrasco: 1.40 ERA, 47 strikeouts, six walks over his last seven starts.
8:10 p.m.	Tigers at Twins	FS Detroit, FS North	David Price has a 2.34 ERA in nine career games (eight starts) against the Twins.
8:15 p.m.	Brewers at Cardinals	FS Wisconsin, FS Midwest	Mike Fiers (1.84 ERA) makes his first start since the Giancarlo Stanton incident.
10:05 p.m.	Mariners at Angels	ESPN, FS West, ROOT Northwest	James Paxton: 2.25 ERA, 13 strikeouts in 12 innings in two wins over Angels this year.
10:05 p.m.	Rangers at Athletics	CSN California, FS Southwest	In 21 innings this season, Derek Holland has allowed three runs and has yet to issue a walk.
10:10 p.m.	Phillies at Padres	CSN Philly, FS San Diego	For all the things wrong with the Phillies, Cole Hamels (2.51 ERA) isn't one of them.

Federal Baseball and Camden Chat celebrated the Nationals’ and Orioles’ division-clinching victories.
The Braves’ front office is in disarray, writes Scott Coleman on Talking Chop.
The Triple-A baseball champion was crowned on Tuesday:

The @OMAStormChasers join the @CLBClippers and @RiverCats as the only teams to ever repeat as Triple-A National Champions.
— Triple-A Baseball (@TripleABaseball) September 17, 2014