Injuries Sideline Angels’ Weber for the Season

Ben Weber’s outstanding season came to an early end when the reliever suffered strained ligaments and a fractured bone in his right ankle during Monday night’s 5-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

Weber was injured after leaping for an eighth-inning Carlos Guillen chopper over the mound and landing awkwardly on his right foot.

Weber had to be helped off the field, and he left the clubhouse in a wheelchair. An MRI test and a CT scan Wednesday revealed the extent of the injury.

Surgery was not required, but Weber’s ankle was placed in a cast.

Weber is expected to recover fully by spring training, which is good news for the Angels because the sinker-ball specialist with the herky-jerky motion and funky goggles developed into one of the team’s most reliable relievers this season.

Weber, a 31-year-old right-hander who was claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 30, 2000, went 6-2 with a 3.42 earned-run average in 56 appearances.

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The Texas League championship series between Arkansas, the Angels’ double-A affiliate, and Round Rock is expected to resume on Friday.

There were three days of postponements because of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Arkansas leads the seven-game series, two games to none.