Seattle @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2010 ) LA Angels 4, Seattle 2
Desperate for a victory, Jered Weaver gets a visit from an old foe he has had great success against when the Seattle Mariners begin a three-game series at the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
Weaver is winless in his last five starts and has lost four consecutive decisions to drop his record to 11-11 with a 3.14 ERA. He has gotten no help from his team as the Angels have scored just two runs in his last five starts. He is 0-4 with a 4.85 ERA in those games.
Weaver has gotten 1.96 runs of support since July 1, the worst mark in the majors.
Poor offense has been deadly for the Angels (67-73). They have scored one or no runs 10 times in their last 22 games, going 7-15 in that stretch and they are 10 games behind the American League West-leading Texas Rangers.
But the timing could be right for Los Angeles and the right-hander to end their malaise as the Mariners (55-85) have scored more than three runs just once in their last 13 games.
The Angels are 12-4 against Seattle this season and Weaver has beaten the Mariners more than any other opponent he has faced, going 10-3 in his career with two wins in three starts this season.
The 27-year-old righty needs five strikeouts to take over the major-league lead from Seattle’s Felix Hernandez, who will pitch Saturday night against Ervin Santana. Weaver could become the first Angel to lead the majors in strikeouts since Nolan Ryan had 341 in 1977.
Seattle will send right-hander David Pauley (2-7, 4.42) to the mound, who has been struggling as of late. The right-hander has lost three in a row, sporting a 6.11 ERA and giving up four earned runs in four consecutive starts. He gave up four runs early in his last start Saturday against Cleveland.
Pauley gave up three home runs in a 5-3 loss to the Angels on Aug. 30.
Hideki Matsui had one of those homers and is batting .403 (25-for-62) since Aug. 14, the third-best average in the majors in that stretch. He has 17 RBIs in his last 20 games.
Mariners closer David Aardsma has 29 saves and needs one more to become the fourth Seattle pitcher to record back-to-back 30-save seasons. He had 38 in 2009.
Seattle right fielder Ichiro Suzuki needs 17 hits for his 10th consecutive 200-hit season. That milestone would break Ty Cobb’s American League record for consecutive 200-hit seasons and tie Pete Rose’s major-league mark. Suzuki is batting .314 overall and .409 (18-for-44) during a 10-game hitting streak.