Sibling Rivalry May Be Brewing

Watching kid brother Jered Weaver throw seven shutout innings in his major league debut Saturday night “was pretty special” for Jeff Weaver, the Angels’ veteran right-hander.

But would the elder Weaver still think of his brother as special if Jered remained in the rotation and Jeff was bumped to the bullpen when Bartolo Colon comes off the disabled list?

“There’s nothing wrong with a little sibling rivalry,” Jeff Weaver said. “Hopefully we build up each other throughout the course of the year.”

Colon, sidelined since April 16 because of an inflamed shoulder, threw a three-inning, 46-pitch simulated game Saturday and could begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga this week. Barring any setbacks, Colon could return to the Angels’ rotation in mid-June.

If Jered Weaver pitches well in his next two or three starts, he could force the Angels to keep him in the rotation, much the way Ervin Santana did with his breakout performance last season.

And the most vulnerable Angels starter right now is Jeff Weaver, who is 2-7 with a 6.99 earned-run average and appeared on the verge of a demotion to the bullpen before ending a five-game losing streak Wednesday at Texas.

“There’s certainly going to be opportunities for guys,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “A lot can happen in two or three weeks. We don’t have to make a decision now.”

That decision could be interesting if the Angels’ most recent pitching addition continues to excel and that final rotation spot comes down to Weaver versus Weaver.

“It doesn’t faze me,” Jeff Weaver said. “There’s always competition for all of us to get better and to win. When you start worrying about things you don’t have control of, that’s when you get in trouble. If I win games, everything will take care of itself.”

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Angels starter Kelvim Escobar took the loss Sunday, but reliever Scot Shields felt worse. Shields replaced Escobar with one out in the seventh inning and the Angels leading, 4-3. By the time the setup man left in the eighth, the Orioles scored four more runs, the final two charged to Shields.

In his last start, in Texas on Tuesday, Escobar was replaced by Shields in the seventh inning of a 2-2 game. Shields gave up a run-scoring single to Michael Young, and the Angels lost, 3-2.

“If it’s my loss, fine, but giving the loss to Kelvim with how he pitched is tough,” Shields said. “That’s two times in a row this has happened, and it’s tough to handle. Overall, we played a good game today. It was just a late-inning meltdown on my part that gave us the loss.”

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Catcher Mike Napoli suffered a slight sprain of his left ankle while blocking the plate and preventing Javy Lopez from scoring in the second inning of the Angels’ 10-1 victory Saturday night. Napoli was available Sunday but said the ankle was “pretty sore.” He did not play.... Angels utility infielder Maicer Izturis, out since April 24 because of a strained left hamstring, will begin a rehabilitation assignment with triple-A Salt Lake tonight.... A replay of Barry Bonds’ 715th home run on the Angel Stadium video board before the eighth inning Sunday drew mostly boos and a smattering of applause from a crowd of 40,856.