Los Angeles Angels at Seattle Mariners

Miller (3-2, 1.97 ERA) takes the hill at T-Mobile Park when first pitch goes at 6:40 PM PT, and the pitching matchup is about as lopsided as it gets in this series. The right-hander has been one of the sharpest starters in the AL since coming off the IL in mid-May — 54 strikeouts and a 0.72 WHIP across 45.2 innings, operating with upper-90s velocity, a wipeout sweeper, and a changeup he can throw in any count. His last outing was a tough-luck 5.2-inning, 11-strikeout performance against Pittsburgh that he lost on a pair of solo shots. Walbert Ureña (5-6, 3.14 ERA) answers for Los Angeles after a brutal June 26 start in which he gave up 7 earned runs in just 4.1 innings against Oakland.

The Angels are 0-2 in this series without ever really threatening. On July 1, Bryan Woo held them to 4 hits into the seventh and Seattle batted around in the sixth to pull away 8-3. The game before that ended 6-2. Los Angeles is showing up to T-Mobile without Mike Trout, who landed on the 10-day IL on June 18 with a hamstring injury that has him at about 50 percent running intensity. Without Trout in the middle of the order, the Angels are leaning on Jorge Soler's power and Jo Adell's run production against a pitcher who walks almost nobody. Ureña has the raw stuff — his fastball now sits at 97.8 mph and his changeup is a legit weapon — but he needs to be a lot better than his last outing for this to be competitive.

Los Angeles Angels

(36-51)

Jul 1L@ Mariners3-8

Jun 30L@ Mariners2-6

Jun 28Wvs Athletics4-1

Jun 28Wvs Athletics5-2

Jun 27Lvs Athletics3-9

Seattle Mariners

(44-43)

Jul 1Wvs Angels8-3

Jun 30Wvs Angels6-2

Jun 28L@ Guardians5-6

Jun 27L@ Guardians3-4

Jun 26W@ Guardians3-1

The Mariners are 44-43 and in the thick of the AL West race. Home games against 36-51 clubs with your best starter on the mound are supposed to be wins, and Seattle's lineup has been doing its part all series. Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodriguez have been driving traffic at the top, and Colt Emerson added 3 hits in Wednesday's game. The bigger concern for the Mariners right now is their own attrition — Luke Raley is day-to-day with a forearm issue, Brendan Donovan is on the IL with a groin strain, and Rob Refsnyder went on the IL this week with knee trouble. None of that changes tonight's dynamic, but the roster depth is thinner than they'd like with the trade deadline approaching.

Los Angeles Angels

(13)

• Day-To-DayNiko Kavadas 1B — The Angels reassigned Kavadas to minor-league camp Wednesday.
• 10-Day-ILMike Trout CF — Trout (hamstring) took 30 swings and ran at about 50 percent intensity Saturday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
• 10-Day-ILAdam Frazier 2B — Frazier (elbow) resumed throwing Wednesday, per MLB.com.
• 10-Day-ILSebastian Rivero C — Rivero was removed from Tuesday's game against the Astros with an apparent left hand injury, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
• 10-Day-ILGustavo Campero C — The Angels selected Campero's contract from Double-A Rocket City and placed him on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to a fractured hand.
• 15-Day-ILGrayson Rodriguez SP — Rodriguez (back) struck out four and allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk across four innings Sunday in his rehab start for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
• 60-Day-ILTravis d'Arnaud C — D'Arnaud (foot) was able to catch from a pitching machine Sunday and has continued to do swinging and throwing in his workouts, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
• 60-Day-ILJack Kochanowicz SP — Kochanowicz's Tommy John surgery on his right elbow was deemed "successful," per MLB.com.

Seattle Mariners

(9)

• Day-To-DayLuke Raley RF — Raley (forearm) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Angels.
• Day-To-DayDane Dunning RP — The Mariners signed Dunning to a minor-league contract Thursday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
• 10-Day-ILBrendan Donovan 3B — Donovan (groin) ran sprints on the field Monday and will be re-evaluated after the Mariners' homestand to determine whether he's ready to begin a rehab assignment, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
• 10-Day-ILRob Refsnyder DH — The Mariners placed Refsnyder (knees) on the 10-day injured list Monday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.
• 15-Day-ILCooper Criswell RP — Criswell was diagnosed with a Grade 1-plus pectoral strain Tuesday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
• 15-Day-ILMatt Brash RP — General manager Justin Hollander said Tuesday that Brash was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain in his right lat, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.
• 60-Day-ILCarlos Vargas RP — Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said Tuesday that Vargas (lat) recently began a throwing program and could be ready to return from the 60-day injured list around the Aug. 3 trade deadline, Zac Hereth of 710 AM Seattle Sports reports.
• 60-Day-ILWill Wilson 3B — Wilson (thumb) has gone 3-for-9 with two RBI and a 1:2 BB:K in his first three rehab games between High-A Everett and Triple-A Tacoma.

The Angels are also dealing with pitching depth they don't have. Jack Kochanowicz had Tommy John surgery and is out for the year, Grayson Rodriguez is rehabbing from a back issue, and Yusei Kikuchi is on the 60-day IL with a shoulder problem. Ureña's development has been a genuine bright spot in an otherwise difficult season — before the Oakland start, he threw 5 shutout innings against the Athletics just 6 days earlier. But walks and long-inning counts have tripped him up before, and Miller on the other side simply doesn't make mistakes. This is a difficult place to stop a skid.