Kid Brother Weaves a Masterpiece

Angels veteran Jeff Weaver was anxious, even a little nervous. It had been seven years since his big league debut, when he tossed five scoreless innings for Detroit to beat Minnesota in 1999, and now his younger brother, Jered, was going through the same stressful experience, with all the phone calls, the extra ticket requests, the family demands, the goose bumps.

“I don’t think you ever forget your first outing,” Jeff Weaver said. “You don’t forget warming up in the bullpen, hearing your name announced on the loudspeaker, facing your first batter ... it’s going to be a whirlwind for him tonight. But when it’s all said and done, it’s something he’ll remember forever.”

For all the right reasons.

Jered Weaver, a year and three days removed from signing for a franchise-record $4-million bonus, returned the first of what the Angels believe will be many dividends on their investment, allowing three hits in seven shutout innings Saturday night to lead them to a 10-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

With his older brother watching from the dugout rail, the 23-year-old Simi Valley High and Long Beach State product was brilliant before a crowd of 43,005 in Angel Stadium, striking out five and walking one, as the Angels extended their win streak to four and pulled within four games of Texas in the American League West.

“This is a dream come true,” Weaver said. “I’ve been waiting for this since I was a little kid. Having it come out like this is definitely a confidence booster.”

For him and the Angels. The team has struggled to replace ace Bartolo Colon, out since April 16 because of an inflamed shoulder, and Jeff Weaver seemed on the verge of a demotion to the bullpen before snapping a five-game losing streak Wednesday in Texas. The Angels’ earned-run average in May was 5.41 before Saturday.

Then along comes Jered Weaver, with a fastball clocked between 90 and 93 mph, a sweeping slider and changeup, all delivered out of an extreme, across-the-body motion that makes it seem as if the 6-foot-7, 205-pound right-hander is throwing the ball from the shortstop slot.

And down go the Orioles, rather meekly, unable to square the ball up consistently against Weaver.

“He made some good hitters look off-balanced,” Angels veteran Tim Salmon said. “Pitchers always have the edge the first time out, but he has good stuff, and he mixes it up. He turns his back to the hitter, he’s lanky ... it’s a lot like Jeff when I first saw him in Detroit. He’s funky, his ball is moving up and down. I imagine that’s the look he’s giving the hitters.”

Weaver was backed by a 14-hit attack that included Salmon’s two-run homer in the fourth inning, Kendry Morales’ three-run shot in the sixth and Tommy Murphy’s solo shot in the eighth. Salmon and Morales, the Cuban defector playing in his fourth big league game, each had three hits.

But it was a defensive play by right fielder Vladimir Guerrero that may have given Weaver the biggest lift Saturday night. The Angels were leading, 1-0, in the second inning when a Javy Lopez single and Ramon Hernandez double put Orioles runners on second and third with no outs.

Jeff Conine flied to medium right, and Guerrero made a strong one-hop throw to catcher Mike Napoli, who blocked the plate with his left foot while applying the tag to Lopez for the double play.

Weaver struck out Corey Patterson to end the inning, then stood in front of the dugout until Guerrero arrived from the outfield and exchanged high-fives with the Angel slugger.

“The butterflies were definitely there, no doubt about it,” Weaver said. “But after the second inning, when we got out of it with that big play by Vlad, I kind of settled in.”

Now, the game ball from Jered’s first victory will settle into a trophy case in the family’s Simi Valley home, a shrine dominated by his older brother.

“There are a bunch of balls in there, mostly for what Jeff has accomplished,” Jered said. “Hopefully, this will be one of many.”