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Angels cruise, 7-0, as Matt Shoemaker puts forth a polished effort

Angels starter Matt Shoemaker went six innings against the Twins in a 7-0 victory on Tuesday night in Anaheim.

Angels starter Matt Shoemaker went six innings against the Twins in a 7-0 victory on Tuesday night in Anaheim.

(Jonathan Moore / Getty Images)
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Jered Weaver threw a four-inning, 60-pitch simulated game on Tuesday, moving to the brink of a return from a left-hip injury, but Angels Manager Mike Scioscia still hasn’t decided whether the right-hander will return to the rotation soon, throw another simulated game or start a minor league rehabilitation stint.

No wonder. Scioscia has nowhere to put Weaver, the performance of the Angels’ current five starters making it extremely difficult for the manager to decide which one will get bumped to the bullpen or triple A.

Matt Shoemaker looked like the most vulnerable of the group with a 4-7 record and 4.85 earned-run average, but that was before he gave up two hits and struck out 10 in six shutout innings of a 7-0 win over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night, a game Scioscia called Shoemaker’s “best start of the year.”

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The Angels played without center fielder Mike Trout, who was sidelined by a sore left heel, but that hardly slowed the hottest team in baseball.

Chris Iannetta, who entered with a .191 average, five home runs and 20 runs batted in, hit an RBI single in the third and capped a five-run sixth with a towering three-run homer to left to help the Angels to their 16th win in 19 games, a stretch in which they’ve outscored opponents 108-44.

C.J. Cron had four singles and is hitting .440 (22 for 50) with four homers and 12 RBIs since his June 29 recall from triple A, and Albert Pujols and Daniel Robertson each had two hits as the Angels maintained their two-game lead over Houston in the American League West.

The offense has been on a tear, scoring seven runs or more in nine of 14 games, but the pitching — especially the starters — has been sharp all season, even without Weaver.

Since June 24, the week Weaver got hurt, Angels starters lead the major leagues in ERA (1.86) and wins (13) and have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 17 of 20 games. They lead the league with 57 quality starts.

Scioscia said Monday night that left-hander Andrew Heaney, who is 4-0 with a 1.57 ERA since replacing Weaver, will remain in the rotation. Right-hander Garrett Richards (10-6, 3.24 ERA) is the best pitcher on the team.

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Left-hander Hector Santiago (7-4, 2.30 ERA) made the All-Star team. Left-hander C.J. Wilson (7-7, 3.59 ERA) is having a solid season, but he could be used as a trade

chip to acquire a hitter, and Shoemaker pitched Tuesday like a man who has no intention of being demoted to the bullpen or minor leagues.

So where does that leave Weaver, who was 4-8 with a 4.75 ERA and 16 homers allowed but was the staff ace for five years before this season?

“We haven’t made any decision,” Scioscia said, adding that he has no intention of using a six-man rotation. “First, we have to see where Weav is, make sure he goes through the paces and is ready to pitch. When he is, we’ll make a decision.

“If you have six guys throwing well and you have to pick five, that’s a nice position to be in. I don’t think you can say enough about the way our rotation has performed, and tonight is just another example of

a guy getting the baton and passing it on to the next guy in good shape.”

Scioscia didn’t sense that Shoemaker, who improved to 5-7 with a 4.55 ERA, was pitching to save his job.

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“He pitches free, he turns it loose,” Scioscia said.

“Shoe has that gunslinger’s mentality. He thinks he’s Nolan Ryan out there. He went after guys with all his pitches, and he looked like Nolan striking out 10 in six innings.”

Up next

Wilson will oppose Minnesota right-hander Mike Pelfrey (5-6, 4.00 ERA) at Angel Stadium on Wednesday at 7 p.m. TV: FS West; Radio: 830, 1330.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeDiGiovanna

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