Angels wait in vain for a win in Chicago
Reporting from Chicago — The Angels spent much of Tuesday waiting.
They waited for the game to begin (it finally did after a 1-hour 41-minute delay). They waited for confirmation that Jered Weaver had been added to the American League All-Star roster (it could come Sunday). And they waited for their slumping offense to re-emerge (there’s no telling when that might happen).
There was little need to linger in the clubhouse after a 4-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field sent the Angels to their fourth defeat in five games and prompted more questions about a lineup that couldn’t capitalize on the early departure of Jake Peavy.
The White Sox starter twirled off the mound in obvious discomfort after delivering a second-inning pitch to Mike Napoli, departing because of a strained right-side muscle. But the Angels could muster only one run in 71/3 innings against four relievers and have averaged only 4.1 runs over their last 15 games.
“Of course it puts it a lot of pressure on your pitchers,” Manager Mike Scioscia said of the lack of run support. “We need to get some early runs and let our pitchers get their feet on the ground.”
Weaver (8-4) kept the Angels in a taut, one-run game until tiring toward the end of his 61/3-inning outing on a muggy night. He gave up a solo home run to Alex Rios in the sixth and one to Andruw Jones in the seventh and departed having given up seven hits and four runs.
“I got a little gassed out there and wasn’t able to make some pitches,” said Weaver, who walked one and struck out six to increase his major league-leading strikeout total to 130.
Weaver triggered more hubbub on the West Coast than he did here. New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi dropped Weaver’s name before his team played in Oakland, telling reporters that he was considering replacing the Yankees’ CC Sabathia with the Angels pitcher on his All-Star roster.
But Girardi can’t officially make any roster changes until Sabathia throws a pitch Sunday, said Tim Mead, the Angels vice president of communications.
Sabathia becomes ineligible to pitch in the All-Star game if he pitches Sunday under a new rule that bars pitchers who start on that day from participating in baseball’s midsummer showcase.
Weaver would join teammate Torii Hunter as an Angels All-Star but probably wouldn’t be able to pitch in the game because he is also scheduled to start Sunday. Weaver would receive a $50,000 bonus for being selected to the team.
“I’m not going to read into it,” Weaver said of Girardi’s comments. “Whatever happens, happens. I’ve still got plans to go to Napa.”
Scioscia said he addressed his team’s lack of focus after the players lost track of the number of outs in the fourth inning Monday — “Some things have been discussed,” he said — but there were further breakdowns a day later.
Hunter was caught stealing when he broke for second base too early in the second inning and Juan Rivera, in his first game back since being sidelined nearly a week because of blurry vision, was thrown out on a botched hit-and-run play in the fourth that might have cost the Angels a run.
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