Angels weave together 7-3 win over Jays
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It wasn't vintage Jered Weaver, but even the generic brand is pretty good.
Weaver went 7 2/3 strong innings and got more than enough help from the offense as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3 on Saturday night at Angel Stadium for their third victory in a row.
The Angels had 10 hits, including three from Howie Kendrick and Kole Calhoun's second homer in as many games. Five Angels hitters had at least one RBI.
Weaver (6-5) went into the game having thrown 24 1/3 scoreless innings at home and he extended the streak to 26 1/3 innings before Brett Lawrie homered for the Blue Jays leading off the third inning.
Weaver, who gave up three runs, seven hits and two walks, has won five consecutive starts at home, the last loss coming June 21 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. But this one didn't go down quite as smoothly as they have in the past few weeks.
"My location was good, (but) my slider wasn't quite there today," said Weaver, who had five strikeouts and threw 108 pitches. "I had trouble finding that and that made it a little bit tougher. I had to try to mix in some other pitches, but I was able to minimize the damage."
The offense gave Weaver some breathing room right away, scoring three runs in the first inning against Blue Jays starter Esmil Rogers (3-6).
The Angels added four runs in the fifth, thanks partly to a throwing error by Blue Jays catcher J.P Arencibia that resulted in two unearned runs.
Rogers gave up all seven runs (five earned) and all 10 hits in five innings.
"We spotted them three tonight, so it was an uphill battle," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "It's been happening way too much lately, but (Rogers) hung in there. He gave us a chance, but of course they exploded on us late. And we really couldn't do anything with Weaver."
The Angels failed to get a hit after the fifth inning, but they set the tone early by putting constant pressure on Rogers and the Jays.
In the first inning, consecutive singles by Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and Kendrick loaded the bases. Mark Trumbo drove in the first run when he grounded into a force play. Erick Aybar and Chris Nelson followed with consecutive RBI singles to make it 3-0.
The Angels matched Lawrie's third-inning homer with a solo blast by Calhoun in the fifth to make it 4-1 before they added three more runs in the inning with aggressive base running and Arencibia's error.
"Runs are going to come in a lot of different ways," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Whether it's batter's box offense, and guys drive the ball out of the park, which is really the template for the way (general manager) Jerry (Dipoto) set up this team.
"As we've had some guys struggling to get into their game and we've had some guys banged up, it's evolved into a team that maybe is going to rely on a combination of things, some base running, some situational hitting, and still have the ability to drive the ball occasionally. But when you lose a guy like Albert (Pujols) and we see Josh not exactly hit like he has, you have to rebuild a bit."
NOTES: Angels LHP Jason Vargas, out since June 17 because of a blood clot in his left armpit area, threw a simulated game on Saturday. He will pitch a bullpen session in a couple days, and if he comes out of it OK, he will begin a rehab assignment sometime next week. ... Trout has reached base safely in 34 consecutive game, the longest such streak by an Angel since Erick Aybar had a 36-game streak in 2011. ... Chris Iannetta threw out all three Blue Jays base runners trying to steal Friday night, marking the first time an Angels catcher has thrown out three would-be base stealers in a game since Bengie Molina did it against the New York Yankees in 2003. ... Blue Jays RHP Josh Johnson, who has been dealing with knee tendinitis, threw a bullpen session on Saturday and said he felt fine. Johnson, who has lost six consecutive starts, is on track to make his next start on Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners. ... Blue Jays RHP Brad Lincoln was called up from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday to take the spot on the roster of RHP Todd Redmond, who was optioned to Buffalo after his start against the Angels on Friday. Lincoln was 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 13 games earlier this year for the Jays.
