Los Angeles @ Chicago preview
Guaranteed Rate Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 5, 2010 ) LA Angels 2, Chi. White Sox 9
Every year there are players who deserve to make the All-Star team but don’t get an invitation. One of those people this year is Jered Weaver.
Weaver will be looking to show the league what it is missing when he gets the start for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.
The All-Star Game will take place at Angel Stadium in Anaheim next week, making it an even more significant snub in the case of Weaver, who leads the American League with 124 strikeouts and ranks in the top 10 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.
But Weaver was somehow not one of the 13 best pitchers in the league, according to New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who was in charge of putting the finishing touches on the roster after the fans, players and coaches voted.
Girardi passed over Weaver again on Monday, choosing another of his own pitchers - Andy Pettitte - when Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz went on the disabled list and was ruled out of the All-Star Game.
Weaver has allowed three runs or less in 13 or his 16 outings this season and is coming off a strong effort against the Texas Rangers last week in which he allowed two hits and struck out six in seven scoreless innings. The 27-year-old right-hander has gone seven innings in each of his last three starts, yielding a total of two runs and nine hits while piling up 28 strikeouts.
Weaver has been nearly unhittable against the White Sox in his career, going 4-0 in five starts with a 0.52 ERA while striking out 33 and walking seven in 34 2/3 total innings.
He will be taking on a White Sox team on Tuesday that seems to be firing on all cylinders, climbing to within one game of the AL Central lead. Chicago took the series opener on Monday, 9-2, getting two homers from Carlos Quentin and one apiece from Alexei Ramirez and rookie Dayan Viciedo.
Paul Konerko, who is another of the bigger All-Star snubs this season, added an RBI single among two hits in Chicago’s win.
The White Sox will send Jake Peavy to the mound on Tuesday. No stanger to the All-Star Game when he pitched for the Padres in the National League, Peavy hasn’t had nearly as much success in his first full season in the AL.
The veteran right-hander was carrying a 6.23 ERA at the end of May before finding his form in June along with the rest of the team. Peavy went 3-2 with a 1.75 ERA and a .194 batting average against in the month.
One of Peavy’s worst starts of the season came against the Angels back on May 20, when the Angels pounded him for six runs on eight hits in six innings.