At 1.12, Weaver Just Keeps Bobbing Along

Baseball’s magic numbers include 755, 56 and 1.12.

The casual fan should recognize that Hank Aaron hit 755 home runs and Joe DiMaggio hit in 56 consecutive games. The serious fan might recognize 1.12 as Bob Gibson’s earned-run average in 1968, the lowest such figure in the modern era.

After the first six starts of his major league career -- all victories -- Jered Weaver’s earned-run average stands at 1.12. Weaver pitched two-hit ball over seven shutout innings Saturday, with Juan Rivera and Maicer Izturis hitting home runs in the Angels’ 6-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

The Angels escaped last place in the American League West for the first time since June 8. And, with their sixth victory in seven games, they closed to within three games of the division lead for the first time since May 12.

Weaver, 23, became the first pitcher in club history to win his first six starts and the first major leaguer to do it since Kazuhisa Ishii did it for the Dodgers in 2002. Attach an asterisk to that note, because Ishii was 28 and a veteran of the Japanese league.

In 40 innings, Weaver has struck out 36, walked seven and held opponents to a .164 batting average. Other teams haven’t stopped him, and the Angels are crossing their fingers that occasional tightness in his golden arm won’t stop him either.

Weaver made 111 pitches in his last start but left this one after 95 pitches, and after retiring 10 of 11 batters.

“I could have gone another one,” Weaver said. “I don’t have much say around here right now.”

But Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said he pulled Weaver because of tightness and fatigue he experienced in his last start. Weaver said he has pitched with a touch of tightness in his biceps tendon every now and then -- at Long Beach State, in his previous start and again on Saturday.

“It’s nothing I haven’t felt before,” Weaver said. “It’s nothing to get worried about. They were a little cautious.”

So Weaver was gone, and soon after all of the Angels’ 6-0 lead was very nearly gone. Brendan Donnelly replaced him and gave up four runs in two-thirds of an inning, with Francisco Rodriguez giving up three hits but no runs in 1 1/3 innings for his 20th save.

In his previous outing, Donnelly got one out, walked three and hit one. In this one, he gave up four hits.

“Last time I walked everybody. This time everybody got a hit,” he said. “Next time the odds are with me to get someone out.”

The Angels’ odds are getting better as their offense broadens beyond Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson. Guerrero went hitless in five at-bats, in visible discomfort after a pitch struck him at the base of his left wrist in the fourth inning. (He swung nonetheless, and the ball caromed off his bat for a ground out.) Anderson removed himself from the lineup for the second consecutive game because of hamstring tightness.

No worries. Rivera hit his fifth home run in five games, Izturis his first this season. Chone Figgins had four hits and stole two bases, one on a pitchout. Izturis had three hits and stole a base. Adam Kennedy tripled, as did Figgins, and Mike Napoli doubled and singled.

And Tommy Murphy made two spectacular plays in center field, doubling Frank Thomas off first base on a throw, then robbing Bobby Kielty of an extra-base hit a step before crashing into the wall.

“We’ve got guys picking up the slack,” Donnelly said. “In order to get to our goal, which is to get to the playoffs, we have to have a team. We’re actually starting to look like one.”