Weaver Gives Up 2 Hits And Angels Beat Twins 1-0
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jered Weaver outpitched Mike Pelfrey with eight innings of two-hit ball and Albert Pujols drove in the only run, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
Weaver (5-5) struck out nine and walked one in his first home start against the Twins since his no-hitter on May 2, 2012. The three-time All-Star right-hander retired 19 consecutive batters during one stretch — just four days after teammate C.J. Wilson set down 18 in a row during his 2-0 win against Oakland.
Weaver improved to 8-2 lifetime against the Twins with a 3.28 ERA. Doug Bernier, a 33-year-old rookie who got his first major league hit and RBI in Minnesota's 4-3 win on Monday, singled on an 0-2 pitch with one out in the first. The Twins didn't get another baserunner until Ryan Doumit walked on four pitches with two out in the seventh, and rookie Aaron Hicks singled with two out in the eighth.
Ernesto Frieri got three outs for his 25th save in 27 chances, less than 24 hours after giving up five runs including a grand slam by Chris Herrmann in the 10th inning of the Angels' 10-3 loss. The right-handder ended it by striking out Herrmann with runners at the corners.
Angels right fielder Josh Hamilton missed his third straight game because of right ankle stiffness.
Pelfrey (4-8) pitched six innings and allowed five hits, including Pujols' run-scoring single in the first. The right-hander, who signed a one-year, $4 million contract with Minnesota in December after spending his first seven seasons with the Mets, is 1-5 with a 4.64 ERA in his last 12 starts. His only victory during that stretch was July 6, when he pitched six innings of 3-hit ball in a 6-0 win at Toronto.
NOTES: With C Joe Mauer back in Minnesota spending quality time with wife Maddie and newborn twin daughters Emily and Maren, the Twins recalled Drew Butera from Triple-A Rochester after placing Mauer on the paternity list. Butera, who spent the previous three years as Mauer's backup, had 79 at-bats with the Red Wings after recovering from a broken left hand. ... Former Minnesota SS and current TV analyst Roy Smalley recalled Wednesday that when he played for the club, owner Calvin Griffith offered a $10,000 bonus to any Twins player whose wife gave birth to twins. Smalley's twin daughters Catherine and Laura-Leigh were born in 1984, just before he began his third spring training with the Yankees. And by the time Smalley returned to the Twins in 1985 — a year after Griffith sold the franchise to Carl Pohlad — the offer was no longer valid. ... Weaver, who became a father for the first time on July 5, is 3-1 with a 1.33 ERA in four starts since then, lowering his overall figure to 2.98. ... Pelfrey is 3-1 in four career starts against the Angels, including a 9-6 decision over Weaver on June 16, 2008 in his only other appearance at the "Big A." A couple of hours after that game, the Mets fired manager Willie Randolph. ... Angels CF Mike Trout was 0 for 4, ending his career-best hitting streak at 15 games. ... The Angels signed 38 of their 39 draft picks this year, the best percentage in the franchise's 53-year history. The only exception was RHP Blake Goins, a 12th-round selection who decided to attend the University of Texas.
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