So it looks like this Weaver kid might be kind of good. Of course, he's benefitted from a ton of run support, which is irrelevant when evaluating his performance. What's not irrelevant is the tremendous oufield defense he's received, crucial for a fly ball pitcher. In his debut, it was a bullet from Vlad to cut a runner off at the plate for a double play. Tonight it was a fantastic catch by Chone Figgins off of Casey Blake, which led to a double play as Travis Hafner was nowhere near first base. But eight strike outs against four hits and two walks is nothing to sneeze at. He was mixing his pitches well, hitting his spots, and staying ahead of the hitters for the most part. And let's be honest, this wasn't the Royals. This is the second most prolific offense in the majors. It stands in stark contrast to the last road debut by an Angels pitcher, also in Cleveland. In that game last year, Ervin Santana gave up the cycle to the first four batters he faced.
On the other side, for the second straight Jered Weaver start, the Angels clubbed three home runs, taking a 2-0 lead on Vlad's shot in the first, and adding insurance on a two run blast by D-Mac and a three jun jack from GA. Those were three of the ten hits pounded out by the Angels, nicely complementing their six (six!!) walks, including two each from Napoli and the OC. Someone in Cleveland has either refused to teach pitchers how to hold runners, or Tim Laker has a weaker arm than my six year old niece, because the Angels managed to steal six bases in this game, three by Figgins.
That makes seven wins in their last nine, and they're creeping closer to .500. I'm with my brother on this one. They're not going to win the division with fewer than 81 wins, so discussing where they are in the division race is kind of pointless. Get back to .500, then let's take stock of the situation.
Happy and secure Kelvim takes the pill tomorrow night. A win would provide the Angels with their fourth straight series win and another chance at their first sweep of the season.
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