The way things are going for the Los
Angeles Angels, it's difficult for Jered Weaver to focus on the fact that he is
one victory away from his first 20-win season in the majors. cheap
49ers jerseys
Then again, the only reason the Angels
still have a shot at a postseason berth is because their ace keeps winning.
Weaver kept them within striking distance in the AL wild-card chase, posting his
league-leading 19th victory on Sunday with a 4-1 decision over the struggling
Chicago White Sox.
Albert Pujols reached the 100-RBI mark for
the 11th time in 12 big league seasons with a two-run double as the Angels
remained 2 1/2 games behind Oakland
for the second wild-card spot. Kendrys Morales hit a two-run homer that helped
the Angels complete a three-game sweep.
''Obviously there's a little bit of
scoreboard watching going on now as we dwindle now here,'' Weaver said. ''But
we've got to do what we've got to do and not worry about what other teams are
doing. It's obviously a great sweep, and hopefully we can keep it rolling
against Seattle.''
The White Sox lost their fifth in a row and
led Detroit by
a half-game in the AL Central. The Tigers lost the opener of their day-night
doubleheader against Minnesota.
nba
jerseys cheap
Weaver (19-4) threw 113 pitches in 6 1-3
innings, allowing a run and five hits with four strikeouts and dropping his ERA
to 2.74. He finished his home slate 11-2, including a no-hitter against Minnesota on May 2.
The three-time All-Star right-hander
established a career high for wins, eclipsing his total from last season.
''To get one more than last year is great,
and now I've got a couple more starts to try and get 20,'' Weaver said. ''It
wasn't a personal goal of mine by any means, but it's nice to get a new career
high. Any win right now is important, personal accolades aside. That's what
we've got to do - win ballgames, no matter what it takes.''
The victory didn't come easily for Weaver,
who battled through 94-degree heat during a 33-pitch first inning. He escaped a
bases-loaded jam, striking out Alex Rios at the end of an 11-pitch at-bat and
retiring A.J. Pierzynski on a grounder.
''It felt like it was a million degrees out
there,'' Weaver said. ''Having to throw upwards of 30 pitches in the first is
obviously not what you want to do, but they made me work. That's what their
game plan was, and they did a good job of it. It was a little erratic and it
could have been a lot worse, so it was good to come out of that first one
unscathed and be able to extend it into the seventh.''
White Sox manager Robin Ventura bemoaned
his team's failure again to come through in the clutch. They were 1 for 17 with
runners in scoring position during the series.
''We had Weaver in trouble early and were
in a really good position, but he showed again why he's a good pitcher and we
just couldn't cash in,'' Ventura
said. ''I'm sure he's been in situations like that before.''
Kevin Jepsen threw 1 2-3 scoreless innings
in relief of Weaver. Garrett Richards, Scott Downs and Ernesto Frieri each
retired a batter in the ninth because of lefty-righty matchups.
''The reason we did that today was because
a lot of our bullpen guys had been pitching a lot,'' manager Mike Scioscia
said. ''Garrett had a little bit in him, Downs had a little bit in him and
Ernie has a little bit in him. So when you added it up, you hope you'll get a
full inning.''
Gavin Floyd (10-11) gave up four runs and
seven hits in six innings while striking out eight.
Chicago's only run came in the seventh,
when Pierzynski doubled, advanced on Weaver's wild pitch and scored on Dayan
Viciedo's sacrifice fly. cheap
wholesale jerseys
Floyd matched zeros with Weaver until the
sixth, when the Angels erupted for four runs. Mike Trout walked with one out,
Torii Hunter sent him to third with a hit-and-run single to left field, Pujols
lined the next pitch to left field to score both runners and Morales followed
with his 22nd homer.
''You walk the first guy - and not a good
guy to walk because it puts a lot of pressure on you with Trout getting on
base,'' Floyd said. ''Torii got the base hit, and it happened pretty quick. It
wasn't one of those drawn-out innings.''
No comments:
Post a Comment