Los Angeles @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 18, 2010 ) LA Angels 7, Chi. Cubs 6
Jered Weaver has been a bit of a homebody in his major-league career.
Luckily for him, his team is playing near-perfect baseball away from its friendly confines.
Weaver looks for his seventh win of the season Saturday afternoon as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim face the Chicago Cubs in their first-ever series at Wrigley Field. The Angels looked mostly impressive in the series opener, building a big lead before holding on for a 7-6 victory.
They'll look to continue their winning ways behind Weaver (6-3), who has looked sensational in his home ballpark but merely decent away from it.
A native of Northridge, Calif., Weaver is 2-1 with a 1.85 ERA at Angel Stadium of Anaheim this season, compared to a 4-2 mark with a 4.44 ERA on the road. His career ERA is more than a run lower at home than on the road.
He put together an efficient road start in his last outing, although he wasn't that far from home. Weaver scattered three runs on six hits over six innings as the Angels shaded the rival Dodgers, 6-5. It was a solid bounceback start for Weaver, who was crushed for six runs in six innings in his previous outing, a 10-1 loss in Oakland.
Pitching in matinees is one thing Weaver has always done well, no matter where the venue. The 27-year-old is 19-6 with a 2.76 career ERA in 32 daytime starts.
Friday's victory improved the Angels to 15-5 in their last 20 road games, and kept them 2 1/2 games back of the Texas Rangers in the AL West race. Los Angeles is the only team in its division with a winning record away from home - and its 21 road victories are second in all of baseball, behind only the Tampa Bay Rays (23).
After Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick homered to guide the Angels to a 7-2 lead in Friday's opener, the Cubs staged a ninth-inning rally that fell just short. Tyler Colvin and Derrek Lee homered in a four-run ninth, but Angels reliever Fernando Rodney induced Geovany Soto to ground out, ending the game.
The loss served as an accurate representation of the Cubs' season, a campaign featuring glimmers of promise but little else. The defeat dropped Chicago a full seven games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for top spot in the NL Central. The Cincinnati Reds are just a half-game back of St. Louis, and Milwaukee is lurking in fourth, just two games back of the third-place Cubs.
Ted Lilly (2-5) will aim to reverse Chicago's fortunes Saturday afternoon.
Lilly's peripherals are strong - he has a 2.90 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP, and opposition batters are hitting just .204 off him - but like most Cubs pitchers, he has suffered from a serious lack of run support. He was given just enough in his last start, allowing one hit over eight shutout innings in a 1-0 victory over the White Sox.
Lilly had allowed just six runs over his four previous outings, but was 0-2 as the Cubs scored just six runs in those games.
The 34-year-old left-hander is 5-4 all-time against the Angels, with a 3.45 ERA in 10 starts. He last faced them May 16, 2006 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing three runs in 4 1/3 innings on the way to an 8-3 defeat.