Weaver Good, But Blue Jays Little League Defense Rules the Day in Angels Win

That’s three-in-a-row. It’s official, the Angels are on a winning streak. Next stop, the playoffs. What? Too soon?

The Angels have now scored 22 runs in this series with the Blue Jays, and lucky them, there is still one more game in the series. Combined with the outburst in the Rangers series, it seems that the offense simply needed to not have Albert Pujols in the middle of the lineup. Sorry big guy, but them’s the facts.

Jered Weaver was his usual ho-hum, pitch 7.2 innings, strike out a handful of guys, give up a few runs, walk a couple self tonight. His record improved to 6-5 with the win, and his ERA “ballooned” to 2.90 with the three runs he allowed. Someone get in there and make sure that he is healthy. As for the velocity gains he seemed to have made a few starts ago, they have all but vanished now. Early in the game he was brushing up against 89 MPH, by the time that he was pulled in favor of Dane De La Rosa, he was touching 85 MPH, and sitting in the 83-84 range. Ugh.

As for the offense, Kole Calhoun continued his hot streak that he packed in his suitcase that he brought with him from Salt Lake. Smacking his second home run in as many days in the fifth inning. The Angels plated three runs in a first inning that saw them send eight men to the plate. Mark Trumbo, Erick Aybar and Chris Nelson all registered RBI’s in their get-off-the-mat-quickly first inning.

But the real fun happened in the fifth inning after Kole Calhoun’s home run. Here’s the breakdown:

Mike Trout gets hit by a pitch and again I have to squelch my murderous rage.

Josh Hamilton singles to center. Angels sing, dove’s are released, you get the picture.

Howie Kendrick hits an RBI single up the middle. THEN, after Colby Rasmus makes a bad throw home, J.P. Arencibia proceeds to try and catch Howie heading to second. Unfortunately for Arencibia, second base, is not out by the warning track in right center field.

Hamilton scores, Kendrick scores, everybody laughs at Arencibia.

After De La Rosa got the final out in the eighth, Mike Scioscia brought in Kevin Jepsen to finish the game off. Which he did. It only took him nine pitches to get there, making me wonder why in the hell he can’t do that on a more regular basis. Jepsen gonna Jepsen I guess.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and this series ends tomorrow when the Angels send C.J. Wilson to the mound to face Mark Buehrle in a battle of the lefties at 1:05 PM PST. Bring your oxygen tanks to the game, the Angels have been less than stellar against southpaws this season. Light up the halo, light up the winning streak, light J.P. Arencibia‘s defense on fire.