Angels try to salvage series finale with Mariners

SEATTLE -- While most of the American League contenders continue to trip up and give Los Angeles every chance to take hold of the final wild-card spot, the Angels can't get a grip.

Los Angeles (72-70) will try to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, when the two wild-card contenders wrap up a three-game series that hasn't gone the Angels' way.

Saturday's 8-1 loss left the Angels two games behind Minnesota in the wild-card standings. The Angels will look to rookie right-hander Parker Bridwell (7-2, 4.00 ERA) to try to snap a three-game losing streak. Bridwell has already faced Seattle twice this season, going 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA.

Los Angeles was already desperate for solid starting pitching before Saturday starter Andrew Heaney had another setback on his comeback from 2016 Tommy John surgery, and now the Angels need more help.

Manager Mike Scioscia said before the game that reliever Yusmeiro Petit may be an option to move into the rotation, and that was before Heaney walked off the mound prematurely in Saturday's third inning.

"We are where we are right now," Scioscia said. "Hopefully our starters get us to a certain point."

Heaney said after Saturday's game that he was "not very concerned" about the injury and that he plans to make his next start. But his ERA has swelled to 7.06 this season, and the Angels can't afford to wait for him to get right.

"It's been a battle," Heaney said. "I'm trying to grind through some things and figure some things out. Obviously, it's frustrating."

While the Angels' frustration continues to boil over, the Mariners have quietly whittled their way back into playoff hunt. The back-to-back wins over the Angels pulled Seattle to within three games of the Twins.

The Mariners looked dead in the water after getting swept by division-leading Houston last week, but things are starting to turn around and the other AL wild-card contenders have fallen on hard times.

"We've got nothing to lose," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "We're going to go out, we're going to have fun, and we're going to let the chips fall where they may."

Seattle on Sunday will go with Erasmo Ramirez, who was recently re-acquired from Tampa Bay to add another arm to an injury-ravaged rotation. Ramirez (5-5, 4.35 ERA) has gone 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA in seven starts with the Mariners this season. Over his career, he is 4-2 with a 2.19 ERA in 11 games (seven starts) against the Angels.

Seattle (71-71) can go over .500 for the first time in 13 days while moving into a tie with Los Angeles in the wild-card race.

The teams will finish the regular season with another three-game series in three weeks. By then, the Mariners hope to have two-fifths of their starting rotation back in veteran ace Felix Hernandez and lefty James Paxton.

"It's pretty fun right now, getting to be a part of this group and getting to be a part of this wild-card race," said Andrew Albers, who started Saturday's game and threw six shutout innings in the win over Los Angeles.