Angels and Mariners Close Out Ugly Seasons at T-Mobile Park
Two teams with nothing left to play for except pride meet Thursday night in Seattle, where first pitch is set for 9:40 PM ET. There's no model read on this one — and honestly, the records tell you everything you need to know about why.
Los Angeles comes in at 60-98, one of the worst marks in baseball this season, while Seattle sits at 74-84 — a disappointing finish for a franchise that had higher aspirations. Neither club is playing meaningful October baseball, which makes this a proving-ground game for individuals rather than a team-stakes affair. Grayson Rodriguez is expected to take the mound for the Angels, while Bryan Woo is set to start for the Mariners. Both pitchers have a chance to close out their 2026 campaigns on a strong note, and that individual motivation is about the only real narrative thread worth pulling here.
On the offensive side, the player-to-watch disparity between these two rosters is real. For Los Angeles, Zach Neto has been the standout bat, posting 26 home runs and 74 RBI on the season — legitimate power numbers that make him the most dangerous hitter in this Angels lineup. Mike Trout is hitting .247, a figure that, for a player of his historical caliber, reflects what has been a difficult year. For Seattle, Randy Arozarena has been the engine, slashing .279 with 26 home runs and 76 RBI. Arozarena and Neto are essentially mirror images statistically — same home run total, nearly identical RBI counts — which sets up an interesting individual subplot even if the team stakes are minimal.
With no validated model read available for this game, there's no clean lean to offer. What I will say is this: late-September games between losing teams are notoriously unpredictable. Pitchers may work on specific things rather than compete at full intensity, and lineups can look different than they do in July. Watch Arozarena and Neto as the two players most likely to make noise — and if Rodriguez or Woo is sharp early, this could turn into a low-scoring, pitcher-friendly night at T-Mobile Park.