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Jered Weaver struck out 11 in eight innings.
The Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees meet for the third time this season beginning Friday night for a three-game weekend series in Anaheim. A key figure in the history of both franchises, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Friday's game. Jackson played five years with each franchise, earning the nickname Mr. October with his two World Series wins in New York, and he was also a part of two division winners in Anaheim, in 1982 and 1986.
Sadly, Mr. October had seven hits in 44 at-bats with one home run in the playoffs with the Angels. Here are Friday night's starting lineups:
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Martin C
Jones RF
Montero DH
Gardner LF
Aybar SS
Kendrick 2B
Abreu DH
Hunter RF
Trumbo 1B
Callaspo 3B
Wells LF
Bourjos CF
Mathis C
The Angels have been on fire at home of late, winning 10 of their last 12 in Anaheim, and are 27-10 at home since June 27. The Halos are 42-30 at home this season.
Friday's 7:05 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Fox Sports West. For more news and information, be sure to read Halos Heaven.
The Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees open a weekend series on Friday night in Anaheim that the Angels certainly hope will be a playoff preview. The Angels are two and a half games behind the Texas Rangers with 19 games to play. With the wild card almost certainly coming from the AL East, the AL East winner would play the other division winner with the worst record, which is currently Texas.
Here are the pitching matchups for the weekend, which feature the Angels' three best on the mound:
Friday: Jered Weaver vs. Bartolo Colon
Weaver is 8-1 with a 1.87 ERA at home this season, while Colon returns to face the team with which he won the 2005 AL Cy Young Award.
Saturday: Dan Haren vs. CC Sabathia
Haren has a 6.03 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season, which is the highest ever by an Angels pitcher. Sabathia came within one out of a complete game in Anaheim on June 4, and is looking for his 20th win of the season.
Sunday: Ervin Santana vs. Freddy Garcia
Santana has pitched at least 6 1/3 innings in each of his last 14 starts, and is 8-2 with a 2.18 ERA during that span. Garcia is 8-1 in his career with a 2.91 ERA in Anaheim.
Friday's 7:05 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Fox Sports West. For more news and information, be sure to read Halos Heaven.
Jered Weaver looks for continued home success on Friday night as the Los Angeles Angels open a three-game series against the New York Yankees in Anaheim. Weaver is 8-1 with a 1.87 ERA in 13 home starts this season, and has won his last six decisions in Anaheim. His mound opponent tonight, Bartolo Colon, is having his finest season since winning the Cy Young Award with the Angels in 2005.
After allowing 14 runs in his first 12 home starts, Weaver struggled Saturday against the Minnesota Twins, allowing six runs in six innings. However, the Angels offense was up to the task, scoring 10 runs to give Weaver his 16th victory of the season. Weaver has had a rough time in his last two starts overall, allowing 13 runs in 11 innings, which has seen his ERA balloon from a major-league-leading 2.03 to 2.49.
Colon won the 2005 American League Cy Young Award -- arguably, Johan Santana probably should have won -- by going 21-8 with a 3.48 ERA for the Angels, in the second year of a four-year, $51 million deal. It was all downhill for Colon since then, as he hadn't even pitched 100 innings in any season since, combining for a 14-21 record with a 5.18 ERA from 2006-2009.
Colon didn't even pitch in 2010 as he was recovering from shoulder damage. However, he has made quite a resurgence with the Yankees this season. In 25 games, including 22 starts, Colon is 8-9 with a 3.72 ERA. He has walked two batters or less in each of his last 10 starts.
The Angels are 2-4 against the Yankees this season, losing two of three games in both New York and Anaheim.
Friday's 7:05 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Fox Sports West. For more news and information, be sure to read Halos Heaven.
Angels Vs. Yankees: Maicer Izturis Delivers Walk-Off Win
Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - A bases-loaded sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Maicer Izturis sent the Angels to a 2-1 win over the New York Yankees. Los Angeles, which has won 11 of its last 13 at Angel Stadium, remained 2 1/2 games behind Texas for first place in the AL West. The Rangers won at home against Oakland Friday night.
Alberto Callaspo legged out an infield single on a grounder to the left side off Aaron Laffey (2-2) and was pinch-run for by Jeremy Moore. Vernon Wells singled to left off Luis Ayala. Brett Gardner was playing deep, giving the speedy Moore a chance to race to third. After Wells took second base, Peter Bourjos was brushed with a pitch on his jersey to load the bases. Izturis then lifted a fly ball to center and the Angels won without a play at the plate.
"I think there was more pressure on him (Ayala) than me with the bases loaded and no outs," Izturis said. "I just tried to put a good swing on it. It was a fastball right down the middle."
Jesus Montero continued his power surge with a home run, giving him three in his first six major league games, but the Yankees lost their third straight game. Despite the setback, they remained 2 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East, as Boston lost to Tampa Bay earlier Friday.
Jered Weaver was spectacular for the Angels, allowing three hits and compiling 11 strikeouts over eight innings. Jordan Walden (5-3) walked Alex Rodriguez with one out in the ninth, but pinch-runner Eduardo Nunez was caught stealing on a pitch-out, helping the Angels to their fifth victory in six games.
"I felt great. Jeff (Mathis) and I were on the same page all night and the defense made some great plays behind me," Weaver said. "Everybody came up big tonight. I'm glad we were able to come out on top."
Montero homered to left field to start the third, but Weaver was awesome in the late going. After walking Andruw Jones to start the fifth, he retired 11 straight batters leading to Derek Jeter's base hit in the eighth.
The Angels tied it in the fifth when Howie Kendrick broke an 0-for-18 slump vs. the Yankees with a line single to right that scored Bourjos.
Bartolo Colon scattered six hits over seven innings in the start for the Yankees.
"We're not swinging the bats as well as we can," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We ran into a good pitcher tonight. He can throw strikes anytime he wants."
Game Notes
It was the Angels' 10th walkoff win of the season...Weaver is 6-0 over his last 11 home starts...LA is 22-10 over its last 32 at home against the Yankees...New York will start CC Sabathia on Saturday. He needs two strikeouts for 2,000 in his career. The Angels will go with Dan Haren, who has won six straight decisions at home, posting a 1.76 ERA in those victories...Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher sat out with pain in his left elbow.
For more news and information, be sure to read Halos Heaven.
Sep 09 10:39p by Eric Stephen