Weaver Wins Again

If the Angels lose the American League West by a game or two, the question will nag them all winter long: What if they had not exiled Jered Weaver to the minor leagues for two weeks?

The kid with the golden arm dominated again on Monday, striking out nine in seven innings of a 7-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. In joining Bo Belinsky as the only players in club history to win their first five major league starts, Weaver lowered his earned-run average from 1.37 to 1.35.

He won this one for his big brother. The Angels cut Jeff Weaver four days ago to make room for him. The brothers spoke by telephone Monday afternoon, and Jeff promised to follow the game on television.

“I wanted to win this one for him, and for me,” Jered Weaver said. “It was his spot in the rotation. It was on the back of my mind that he was out there watching me. It was kind of emotional before I went to the mound.”

Kendry Morales homered for one of his three hits, Chone Figgins drove in three runs and Juan Rivera scored three. If the Angels win today, they’ll own a four-game winning streak for the first time since May.

They’re still in last place, still five games out of first. But they’re five games over .500 with Jered Weaver starting, 11 games under .500 otherwise.

After his first four starts, the Angels parked him in the minors until they could resolve a roster logjam, but the three starts he made for triple-A Salt Lake could have been made for the Angels.

The Angels needed the time, however, to see whether Bartolo Colon could return from the disabled list and pitch effectively and whether they could trade Jeff Weaver for a big bat or Ervin Santana for a bigger bat.

“To keep those options open, we had to hold on,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

Jered Weaver scattered five hits and one walk over seven innings. Ichiro Suzuki rarely strikes out twice in one game, but Weaver struck him out in each of his first two at-bats.

In 33 major league innings, Weaver has struck out 31 and walked five. He has yet to face a team for the second time, when his windup might not be so deceptive.

“When they start catching up to it, I’ll have to make some adjustments,” Weaver said. “Right now, I’m pitching to my strengths.”

The Angels had lost five consecutive games to the Mariners and seven of nine this season. Seattle’s answer to Weaver, Felix Hernandez, pitched a four-hit complete game last month in Anaheim.

Hernandez -- at 20, he’s three years younger than Weaver -- did not fare as well on Monday, giving up five runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. The Angels don’t much care for walks, but they got two off Hernandez and converted each one into a run.

Orlando Cabrera extended his streak of reaching base to 60 consecutive games, with a single in the eighth inning and a walk in the ninth.

Fernando Valenzuela won the first five starts of his career too, but Scioscia isn’t about to declare an outbreak of Weaver-mania.

“That was just a unique situation,” said Scioscia, who was Valenzuela’s catcher. “You had a Mexican kid in a town that had so many Mexican-American baseball fans. They were swallowed up by everything Fernando was doing. This isn’t quite like that.”

The Angels are nonetheless thrilled by Weaver. And he will get a little more excited too, once his brother gets a new job.

“It’s a little tough,” Weaver said. “Obviously, I miss him. Everybody else also misses him around the clubhouse.”