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Clips

(May 4, 2015)

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Today’s Clips Contents FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3)

Angels hardly threatening in 5-0 loss to the Giants

Angels' Jered Weaver continues to struggle as Giants get to him early

Young fan 'dodges a bullet' when hit by foul ball at Angels-Giants game

After almost 6,000 games, first firing in Mike Scioscia managerial tree FROM THE OC REGISTER (Page 6)

Still slow going for Angels' Jered Weaver as he gives up back-to-back homers in loss to San Francisco

Final: Jered Weaver's issues continue in Angels' loss to Giants

Angels' offense backslides in series with Giants

55 years and counting: Meet Angels fan Tom Amberry, the team's longest season-ticket holder

FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 11)

Trout learning from Twitter criticism

Angels shut down as Weaver struggles

Angels have 'bad weekend' in San Francisco

Weaver has no answers for slump

Seeking first 5-0 start, Felix takes on Trout, Angels FROM FOX SPORTS WEST (Page 16)

Week ahead for Angels: Back at The Big A for nine-game home stand FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 17)

Giants beat Angels 5-0 behind Lincecum for 3-game sweep

Mariners-Angels Preview

FROM BLEACHER REPORT (Page 20) Albert Pujols' Health Is Critical to the Angels' Postseason Hopes

May 4, 2015 Page 3 of 21

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Angels hardly threatening in 5-0 loss to the Giants

AT THE PLATE: The Angels mounted just one threat in the game, when Chris Iannetta snapped an 0-for-21 skid with a leadoff single in the sixth and Erick Aybar walked. But Mike Trout flied to center; Albert Pujols grounded out, with second baseman Joe Panik making a nice play behind the bag and a long throw to first; and Kole Calhoun flied to center. The only other Angels batter to reach second was Calhoun with two outs in the ninth. ON THE MOUND: Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum rebounded from his shortest start of the season, a four-inning, four-run, eight-hit effort against the Dodgers last Monday, with eight shutout innings, allowing three hits, striking out one and walking one to improve to 2-2 with a 2.40 earned-run average. Angels left-hander Cesar Ramos threw a scoreless sixth, and Jose Alvarez retired the six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth. IN THE FIELD: The Angels botched a play and made a superb play on consecutive batters in the sixth. With two on, Calhoun dropped Panik’s routine fly to right but recovered to throw out Nori Aoki at second for a force out. Angel Pagan followed with a grounder to the right side that second baseman Johnny Giavotella made a diving stop to his left of and threw to first for the out. EXTRA BASES: Jered Weaver became the first starting pitcher in club history, including the pre-designated-hitter era (1961-72), to not bat ninth in the order. … The last time the Angels were swept in a three-game interleague series on the road was May 19-21, 2006, in Dodger Stadium. UP NEXT: Right-hander Matt Shoemaker (2-1, 6.00 ERA) will oppose Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez (4-0, 1.82 ERA) at Angel Stadium on Monday at 7 p.m.. TV: FS West; Radio: 830, 1330.

Angels' Jered Weaver continues to struggle as Giants get to him early

By Mike DiGiovanna

Mike Scioscia went with an unorthodox lineup Sunday, batting pitcher Jered Weaver eighth and struggling catcher Chris Iannetta ninth against the San Francisco Giants, a move that seemed to buoy the 6-foot-7 right-hander.

"He's pumped," the Angels manager said when asked how Weaver felt about hitting eighth. "He's walking a little taller."

Not for long. The Giants ambushed Weaver in AT&T Park, belting three of his first eight pitches for two home runs and a triple en route to a 5-0 victory that completed a three-game sweep and dropped the Angels seven games behind the upstart Houston Astros in the American League West.

The loss also raised serious concerns about the Angels' erstwhile ace, who was tagged for five runs and 10 hits in five innings, striking out two and walking one to fall to 0-4 with a 6.29 earned-run average. For the first time in 10 years, Weaver has opened a season with six winless starts.

Weaver won 49 games from 2012-2014 with a diminished fastball, but his velocity has dropped even more this season, to 83-85-mph, and he has not had consistent command of his curve and changeup. That has left him with little margin for error, and hitters are teeing off on him to the tune of a .308 average and eight homers.

"I'm pretty much serving [batting practice] up there now," a frustrated Weaver said. "I have to work with what I've got. … I'm not hurt. Everything feels good. It feels like it's coming out a lot better than it is. It's weird, man. I don't know. I've got no answers."

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Neither does Scioscia, who is not at a point where he would consider skipping Weaver in the rotation or moving him to the bullpen.

"I don't think there's any magic pixie dust you can sprinkle on it and get him going right now," Scioscia said. "It's going to be a process. It's a matter of trying to be consistent with what he has. When he's on, he can mix and match and keep guys off balance."

Neither Giants leadoff man Nori Aoki nor No. 2 batter Joe Panik had homered before Sunday. Aoki drove Weaver's first pitch of the game over the wall in right field, and Panik hit his fourth pitch over the same wall for a 2-0 lead.

It was only the third time in franchise history the Angels gave up back-to-back homers to start a game. Weaver was on the mound the last time it happened, against Seattle (Ichiro Suzuki, Chris Snelling) on Aug. 29, 2006.

The third batter, Angel Pagan, missed another homer by a few feet, crushing Weaver's eighth pitch for a triple off the right-center-field wall.

Weaver said he told Iannetta in a pregame meeting that he knew Aoki would swing at the first pitch, "so I tried to get him off-guard with a fastball in, and it was up, middle in," Weaver said. "That's not the way you want to start a game, for sure."

Weaver stranded Pagan at third, getting Buster Posey and Brandon Belt to ground out and striking out Brandon Crawford, raising hope for the Angels that he might rebound as he did Tuesday in Oakland, when he gave up five runs in the first and retired 15 of the next 16 batters.

But the Giants added a run in the third on Belt's fielder's-choice grounder, and two in the fifth when Posey singled with two outs, Belt hit a ground-rule double and Crawford hit a two-run double for a 5-0 lead.

"He's throwing not much different than last year," Iannetta said. "His stuff is good. He's making a few mistakes over the middle of the plate. This little funk he's in, whatever it is, I'm sure it will pass."

Weaver got no support from an offense that managed three hits, was shut out for the second time this season and held to three runs or fewer for the 15th time in 25 games. And waiting for the Angels in Anaheim on Monday night will be Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, who is 4-0 with a 0.88 ERA in his last six starts against them.

"Everything is magnified at the beginning of the year — this is a stretch where we haven't hit to our capability," Iannetta said. "I don't think it's going to last all year — that would be impressive. I think it's going to turn around. We'll get in a groove, catch fire and start swinging it better."

Young fan 'dodges a bullet' when hit by foul ball at Angels-Giants game

By Mike DiGiovanna

As if Chris Iannetta’s season weren't difficult enough, the Angels catcher hitting just .098 after Sunday’s 5-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants, it grew even more disturbing when his check-swing foul ball in the third inning struck a young boy in the head near the first-base dugout at AT&T Park.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Iannetta said. “What else can go wrong?”

The ball, fortunately, was not traveling at a high rate of the speed, and the boy, who was carried away for medical attention, eventually returned to his seat. But the more Iannetta thought about the incident, the more it upset him.

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“I really don’t understand why you would put little kids there, not behind the net, in the first place,” Iannetta said. “As an adult, I wouldn’t sit there because there’s not enough time to react to those things. At first, my heart sank, because I didn’t know how bad he was hurt.

“Then, I was [ticked] off because of the area they were sitting in in the first place. It’s not a place for kids. It’s really not. I wouldn’t put my kids there. I wouldn’t even sit there. It’s different when you’re a player, you’re in every pitch, but as a fan, you’re distracted. … They’re not paying attention. It’s a bad scenario.”

The Angels put together a care package for the boy, with Mike Trout donating a bat and Iannetta a ball.

“He made out on the swag end,” Iannetta said, “but he definitely dodged a bullet.”

After almost 6,000 games, first firing in Mike Scioscia managerial tree

By Bill Shaikin

One of baseball's most impressive streaks came to an end Sunday night. Mike Scioscia and his disciples had managed almost 6,000 games in the major leagues before any of them got fired.

Scioscia never had managed in the major leagues when the Angels hired him before the 2000 season. The Angels had not appeared in the playoffs since 1986, and no manager had lasted more than three consecutive seasons since Bill Rigney, the expansion manager.

So when Scioscia assembled his coaching staff, history suggested that it would be far more likely that he would be fired without winning anything than that he would plant a managerial tree.

In his third season, in 2002, the upstart Angels won the World Series, and the baseball world took notice of his coaching staff. Bud Black, then the Angels' pitching coach, turned down a chance to manage the Cleveland Indians that year and might well have been hired as Boston Red Sox manager the next year had he not removed his name from consideration.

Joe Maddon, the Angels' bench coach, was hired by the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays as manager for the 2006 season. The Rays never had lost fewer than 91 games, and Maddon was warned by some of his friends that the job would be a graveyard.

Black was hired by his hometown San Diego Padres the following year. Ron Roenicke, who moved from third-base coach to bench coach in Anaheim when Maddon left, was hired to manage the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2011 season.

The pinnacle of the group's success -- beyond the Angels' 2002 championship -- came last winter. Maddon, who won beyond anyone's imagination except his own in Tampa Bay, parlayed his triumphs into a five-year, $25-million contract to manage the Chicago Cubs.

The Brewers fired Roenicke on Sunday night, and they are expected to announce Craig Counsell as his successor Monday morning. Scioscia, Maddon and Black remain on the job.

The totals for Scioscia and his three disciples: 5,933 games -- and 36 full seasons -- managed in the majors before Roenicke was dismissed. Scioscia and the man who hired him -- Bill Stoneman, then the Angels' general manager -- should be extraordinarily proud.

May 4, 2015 Page 6 of 21

FROM THE OC REGISTER

Still slow going for Angels' Jered Weaver as he gives up back-to-back homers in loss to San Francisco

By Jeff Fletcher

SAN FRANCISCO – Jered Weaver didn’t have much on his pitches when he stood on at the mound at AT&T Park on Sunday.

And when he stood in the clubhouse a few hours later, he didn’t have much in the way of explanations either.

After Weaver and the Angels lost 5-0 to the San Francisco Giants, the veteran responded to the obvious question about whether an injury was causing the drop in velocity and ineffectiveness.

“Everything feels good,” he said. “It feels like it’s coming out a lot better than it is. It’s weird man. I don’t know. I got no answers.”

Weaver spoke softly in short, clipped sentences, clearly feeling the frustration of a season that has started like no other in his All-Star career.

Weaver is 0-4 with a 6.29 ERA. Opponents have hit .308 against him. His six-start winless streak equals the longest of his career. His fastball has hovered around 83-84 mph, and he has lacked the command to get by with well-below-average velocity.

“It’s frustrating,” he said. “I’m not doing a very good job of helping the team win right now. It’s tough. Just when you think the outing is going to be good, it starts out like it did today.”

In his previous outing, Weaver retired 19 of the final 22 batters on Tuesday in Oakland, an encouraging finish after he gave up five runs in the first inning.

But the positives from that outing were wiped away in the time it took him to unleash his first pitch of the day, an 83 mph fastball that Nori Aoki deposited over the right-field wall.

Three pitches later, Joe Panik whacked a hanging curveball out to right.

It was the first time an Angels pitcher had allowed back-to-back homers to start the first inning since Weaver did it on Aug. 29, 2006.

The third hitter of the game, Angel Pagan, just missed a homer, knocking one off the top of the wall in right-center for a triple.

Weaver managed to strand Pagan and then he pitched a scoreless second, but over the next three innings he gave up three more runs.

“I’m pretty much serving (batting practice) up there now,” Weaver said. “I have to work with what I got.”

Manager Mike Scioscia concedes that Weaver’s velocity has deteriorated, but he insists that Weaver can get by with what he has until the velocity comes back.

“His margin for error is not what it usually is because of where his stuff is right now, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to be successful because he’s already shown that this year,” Scioscia said.

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Weaver has had two quality starts and the last six innings of last week’s game in Oakland, giving hope that he can pitch better, even throwing 84 mph.

In the meantime, the Angels have to figure out a way to deal with an ineffective former ace.

If Weaver isn’t hurt, the Angels can’t put him on the disabled list. Putting him in the bullpen probably wouldn’t help. Having him simply skip a start could be an option.

“There’s always things you’re going to consider, but I don’t think there’s any magic pixie dust you can sprinkle on it and get him going right now,” Scioscia said. “I think it’s going to be a process.”

Final: Jered Weaver's issues continue in Angels' loss to Giants

By Jeff Fletcher

SAN FRANCISCO – Jered Weaver’s season continued on the same mystifying, maddening path it had been on since opening day.

The one-time Angels ace gave up homers to the first two batters he faced on his way to another ugly performance in a 5-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.

Weaver is 0-4 with a 6.29 ERA. His six-start winless streak equals the longest of his career. His fastball has hovered around 83-84 mph, and he has lacked the command to get by with well below average velocity.

If Weaver had built up any reason for encouragement in his last outing, when he gave up one run in his last six innings after giving up five in the first, it evaporated quickly.

Weaver’s first pitch of the game was an 83 mph fastball over the inner half of the plate and Nori Aoki yanked it over the right field wall.

Three pitches later, Joe Panik whacked a hanging breaking ball ball out to right.

It was the first time an Angels pitcher had allowed back-to-back homers to start the first inning since Weaver did it on Aug. 29, 2006.

The third hitter of the game, Angel Pagan, just missed a homer, knocking one off the top of the wall in right-center for a triple.

Weaver managed to strand Pagan and then he pitched a scoreless second, but over the next three innings he gave up three more runs.

While Weaver’s issues are significant, not to be overlooked is the fact that the Angels’ offense has gone back into a slumber. They scored six runs in back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday, but this weekend they scored a total of six runs in three games.

They managed only three hits on Sunday, scuffling against Tim Lincecum.

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Angels' offense backslides in series with Giants

By Jeff Fletcher

SAN FRANCISCO – So much for the Angels’ mini offensive awakening.

After scoring six runs in two straight games on Wednesday and Thursday in Oakland, the Angels went across the Bay and scored a total of six runs in three games.

They had only three hits on Sunday, getting blanked by Tim Lincecum over eight innings. Tim Hudson beat them on Saturday.

“We didn’t have a good series offensively,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Hudson, Lincecum both pitched strong games. We’re still trying to get some groupings that work. Seems like couple guys show some signs, then slide back a little bit, but we’re going to find it.”

The Angels are hitting .224 as a team after hitting .168 against the Giants this weekend.

“It’s just a stretch where we haven’t hit to our capability,” Chris Iannetta said. “I don’t think it’s going to last all year... I think it’s going to turn around. Get in a groove, catch fire. We’ll start swinging it better.”

OUT OF THIS WORLD

Although Scioscia won’t be fully immersed in the Houston Astros until they play the Angels starting on Thursday, he has nonetheless taken notice.

The Astros, doormats of baseball for most of the last few years, are a league-best 18-7. They hold a 6 1/2-game lead on the Angels in the American League West.

“Their young talent has been well documented,” Scioscia said. “They made strides last year and they are off to a great start this year.”

The Astros have won 10 in a row. They are 10-2 on the road, including going 8-1 on their last West Coast trip, through Seattle, Oakland and San Diego.

“It’s tough to really talk about other situations because it’s all speculation what’s going on in that clubhouse, but I would imagine they are playing with a lot of confidence,” Scioscia said. “They are a good club and they are playing at a high level right now.”

‘NOT A PLACE FOR KIDS’

For a moment on Sunday, Iannetta’s thoughts about his frustrating performance at the plate gave way to something even more upsetting.

Iannetta hit a foul ball that struck a boy sitting in the front row by the Angels dugout. The boy, who was whisked away to get some medical attention, ended up being OK, Iannetta said. He returned to his seat later in the game, and Iannetta and Mike Trout got him a signed bat and ball.

“He made out on the swag end, but he definitely dodged a bullet, no pun intended,” Iannetta said.

Iannetta said he was bothered that adults would let a child sit in such a vulnerable spot, that close to the field without protection of the screen.

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“It’s not a place for kids,” Iannetta said. “It’s really not. I wouldn’t put my kids there, I wouldn’t even sit there. It’s different when you’re a player, you’re in every pitch, but as a fan, you’re distracted. … You have to pay attention. And to put young kids there, a whole group of them, they’re not paying attention. It’s a bad scenario.”

NOW BATTING 8TH ...

The Angels made history by batting their pitcher eighth on Sunday, a move Scioscia made because of Trout.

The Angels had batted their pitcher ninth in every other interleague game in a NL park, dating to 1997, as well as every game before the institution of the DH in 1973.

Scioscia said he wanted to have a regular hitter in the No. 9 spot to feed Trout, who was batting second.

Although that hitter was Iannetta, who snapped an 0-for-21 streak and raised his average to .098, Scioscia said it still made sense because Iannetta has a history of getting on base.

Scioscia said he didn’t put the pitcher eighth in the first two games of the series because Trout was hitting third on Friday and Drew Butera was catching instead of Iannetta on Saturday.

ALSO

The last time the Angels were swept on the road in a three-game interleague series was May 19-21, 2006 by the Dodgers. ... The Giants honored the memory of Jordon Almgren, a 9-year-old boy who was killed last week. The boy lived in the Bay Area, but his favorite team was the Angels.

55 years and counting: Meet Angels fan Tom Amberry, the team's longest season-ticket holder

By Greg Mellen

Before Trout manned center and before Spiezio hit his World Series homer; before Ryan threw bullets and Fregosi and Knoop ever turned 2; before the team played a single game – Tom Amberry was an Angels fan.

He bought season seats in January 1961 – from Gene Autry, placing his check directly into the hand of the team’s founding owner.

“I think it was $360.”

Amberry explains all this during a recent night game against the Oakland A’s, a near sellout. He’s part of a very tiny, very unofficial club, made up of people who don’t really know each other even though they’ve met 81 times a year for 55 years.

As the Angels start their 55th season, there are about three dozen season tickets that remain in the same hands of people who have had them since the team’s first season. Many were bought by companies; some have been passed down to families and friends over the decades.

Amberry, a 92-year-old retired podiatrist from Seal Beach, is one of the handful who still receives his tickets from the team and who still goes to games himself, albeit only a few a year these days.

The 6-foot-7 former basketball standout still gets around, but with assistance. Sometimes he uses a walker; sometimes he uses a cane, (fashioned out of a baseball bat, naturally). In either case, his seats are so close to the field – second row, behind home plate, slightly to the first-base side (section 120, row D, seats 1 and 2) – that the stretch of stairs he has to navigate to get to them feels long.

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He pays $24,422 per year for two seats, including parking. Most nights, old friends or his kids or grandkids use the seats.

OLD SCHOOL FAN

But not all nights.

Tonight, Amberry is at the game, though not in his usual seat. He’s not up for the long walk to the edge of the field, so the Angels have set up Amberry and his grandson, Clint, with a table on the patio of the Diamond Club.

By the end of the night, the Angels will give Amberry a game ball and honor him on the center field video wall. And he’ll be pretty thrilled with all that.

“The Angels have always been good to me,” Amberry says. “From the start to today.”

He’s never kept track, but Amberry estimates he’s been to “several thousand” Angels games over the decades.

Top moment? Not a Nolan Ryan no-hitter. Not Garret Anderson’s three-run double in the seventh game of the 2002 World Series. He doesn’t even make a big deal about what happened the next season, when he was called upon to raise the 2002 World Series flag with Jackie Autry and Tim Salmon.

Instead, Amberry remembers the day in 1962, when he was at the park with his then 8-year-old son, Bill, and Marilyn Monroe showed up. When the pair returned home, Bill said to his mother, Elon, “You should have seen the cans on her.”

He does remember the early days more clearly; Bo Belinsky’s 1962 no-hitter at Chavez Ravine, where for a year the Angels shared the stadium with the Dodgers. He’s also been to every All-Star Game hosted by the Angels, and recalls Bo Jackson’s mammoth homer to lead off the 1989 game.

But he’d rather talk about reliever Ryne Duren, the big armed pitcher with the coke-bottle glasses who, in 1961 and ’62, would scatter fans with laser-fast baseballs into the stands – sometimes accidentally, other times maybe not so.

Asked if he ever considered giving up his tickets, Amberry says he did, in the early years, when the team struggled.

“I couldn’t give the tickets away. People would say, ‘Hell, I don’t want to see them.’ Even when I offered my credit card for them to eat at the restaurant,” Amberry says.

“When they got good, those same people would be back asking for tickets to see the New York Yankees.”

VIEW FROM THE PRICEY SEATS

The game seen from Amberry’s seat is different from what you see in much of the stadium.

Players on the field talk, sometimes a lot, and sometimes in ways you can’t print in this paper. And from the second row behind home plate, you can hear them.

Umpires can be loud, too, making it possible to know a call long before the information pops up on a screen or goes out over the radio.

There’s a net between you and the field. But it can’t prevent that feeling – for an instant – that a major-league foul tip is about to hit you in the melon.

On this day, a family friend, Hal Brand, and his wife are sitting in Amberry’s seats.

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For years, Brand, an accountant from Lake Forest, has bought tickets for some games from the Amberry family. Brand says he’s sat all over Angel Stadium, but Amberry’s seats are the best.

But he also notes that the sense of community has changed a bit over the years.

Once, most of the people who sat in the section with the oldest season seats knew each other, at least by sight. There was a sense of community. Now, Brand says, that’s faded.

He looks around and spots a guy about four rows back, and recognizes him as a regular. Otherwise, he says, the crowd is different from game to game.

Later, when Amberry hears about the guy four rows back, he perks up.

“I know him,” he says. “I got him those tickets.”

“That’s the way it is with Grandpa,” Clint says.

“He knows everyone. If he doesn’t, he knows their parents.”

FROM ANGELS.COM

Trout learning from Twitter criticism By Alden Gonzalez SAN FRANCISCO -- At 23 years old, Mike Trout is still grasping the significance of his platform as arguably the game's greatest and most recognizable figure. Saturday's highly anticipated boxing match offered up an eye-opening reminder for the Angels' superstar center fielder. In the days leading up to it, Trout tweeted his support for Floyd Mayweather, a polarizing figure because of a long history of domestic violence. Trout merely wrote "#TMT," which stands for "The Money Team," and included Mayweather's Twitter handle. But he was subsequently hit with a lot of criticism on his Twitter account, @Trouty20. They wanted the proverbial face of baseball to account for Mayweather's off-the-ring transgressions. They wanted Trout to take a stand. It was the first time he had ever dealt with criticism like that. "It's the biggest fight of the year," Trout said Sunday morning. "I was just rooting for somebody. I wasn't trying to start an argument over it. When I tweeted it, I didn't think anything of it until people started talking about it." Trout's mentor, Torii Hunter, also caught flak for supporting Mayweather on social media. He then followed it with a tweet that read: "Don't let emotions clog ur judgement. What Mayweather does in the ring is business. What he does outside the ring has nothing to do with me." That tweet has since been deleted, and Hunter apologized Sunday morning, telling the St. Paul Pioneer Press, "All I was saying is he's a great fighter. I don't agree with domestic violence. That's stupid." Trout mentioned Hunter's tweet before Sunday's series finale. "Like Torii said, I just root for him in the ring."

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Trout was nonetheless told to stay away from further tweets about the fight, which ultimately ended in Mayweather defeating Manny Pacquiao via unanimous decision. Trout isn't just one of baseball's greatest talents; he's among the game's most revered and least controversial figures. But he's still learning about the responsibilities that come with his platform. "You have to be a good role model, obviously," Trout said. "I try to stay out of trouble as much as I can. The things off the [ring] with [Mayweather], I don't really know anything about it. I'm just a fan of him in the ring."

Angels shut down as Weaver struggles By Alden Gonzalez SAN FRANCISCO -- Tim Lincecum pitched eight scoreless innings and the Giants swept, capping a thrilling weekend series at AT&T Park with a 5-0 win over the Angels on Sunday afternoon. Lincecum gave up just three hits and a walk, striking out four while moving his ERA to 2.40. The Giants (12-13) began the game with back-to-back homers by Nori Aoki and Joe Panik, on their way to a 10-hit effort, and have now won eight of their last 11. "He was good, really had a good rhythm, good pace, set the tone," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Lincecum. "Really had good command of all his pitches." Angels ace Jered Weaver finished giving up five runs on 10 hits and a walk in five innings, extending his longest winless streak to start a season to six starts and putting his ERA at 6.29. The Angels (11-14) are now seven games back of the division-rival Astros, who have won 10 in a row. "We had a bad weekend," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We didn't do a lot of things we need to do at the plate and on the field, and some things got away from us on the mound." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Back-to-back blasts: Aoki and Panik had combined for zero home runs this season before hitting their back-to-back shots. Aoki hit Weaver's first pitch, an 83 mph fastball, into the right-field seats for his first homer as a Giant. Facing a 1-1 count, Panik launched Weaver's 68 mph curve into the right-center-field seats. No. 3 hitter Angel Pagan drilled a triple high off the wall in right-center, missing a home run by a few feet. Panik had one homer in 73 regular-season games last season with the Giants. Aoki had one home run in 132 games with Kansas City. Nothing doing: Weaver's ongoing struggles overshadowed another rough day for the Angels' offense, which didn't even get a runner to third base until the top of the sixth. That inning, the Angels got the first two batters on for the best part of their lineup, but Mike Trout lined out, Albert Pujols grounded out and Kole Calhoun flied out. The Angels, Major League leaders in runs scored last year, have plated three runs or fewer in 14 of their 25 games so far. Swept away: When Giants reliever Jean Machi retired Angels third baseman David Freese for the final out in the ninth inning, the Giants won their sixth straight home game and completed their second straight series sweep at AT&T Park. They swept the Dodgers in a three-game series April 21-23 in San Francisco. The Giants lost their first five home games this season. "I think just early in the year it was one of those things," Panik said. "We were in a funk and anytime you're in a funk early on, everybody kind of hits the panic button. But this is the type of ball that we know how to play, playing good defense, making the plays."

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Can't finish: Weaver took the ball for the bottom of the fifth with 67 pitches and recorded two quick outs, setting himself up to keep the Angels' deficit at three and potentially pitch into the sixth inning. But the Angels' ace gave us a single to Buster Posey, a ground-rule double to Brandon Belt and a two-run double to Brandon Crawford, extending the Giants' lead to five. QUOTABLE "I'm pretty much serving B.P. up there now. I have to work with what I've got." -- Weaver, whose average fastball velocity is about 84 mph, nearly three full ticks from where it was the last two seasons SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS The last time the Angels started a game by giving up back-to-back homers was also the only other time it happened to Weaver, on Aug. 29, 2006, in Seattle. The Giants have started a game with back-to-back homers three other times, the last one coming off Hall of Famer Bob Gibson on May 27, 1964. Chuck Hiller and Duke Snider hit them. UNCONVENTIONAL LINEUP Weaver batted eighth, in front of catcher Chris Iannetta, for Sunday's series finale, marking the first time the Angels batted the pitcher anywhere but ninth. Inspired by Tony La Russa, Angels manager Mike Scioscia did it to have more on-base ability ahead of his Nos. 2 and 3 hitters, Trout and Pujols. The Angels were nonetheless shut out, but Scioscia said pregame that Weaver was "pumped" to bat eighth. "He was walking a little taller, that's for sure." WHAT'S NEXT Angels: Matt Shoemaker gets the start Monday, opposite Felix Hernandez, for the 7:05 p.m. PT series opener against the Mariners at Angel Stadium. Shoemaker pitched on extended rest his last two starts and gave up three runs on six hits and one walk in 5 2/3 innings against the A's on Wednesday. Giants: Left-hander Madison Bumgarner will make his sixth start of the season Monday night at 7:15 p.m. PT against San Diego in the opener of a three-game series at AT&T Park. In his last start, Bumgarner (2-1) allowed one run on five hits with nine strikeouts over eight innings in a 2-1 victory Tuesday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Angels have 'bad weekend' in San Francisco By Alden Gonzalez SAN FRANCISCO -- A walk-off hit, a line drive that hit their own runner and a shutout. That, in a nutshell, was the Angels' weekend in San Francisco, which ended with a three-game sweep and left them seven games back of the streaking Astros in the American League West. The city where Tony Bennett left his heart is the city the Angels left with heartache. "Bad," Angels shortstop Erick Aybar said after Sunday's 5-0 loss. "Nothing went our way." Coming off winning two of three in Oakland, which allowed them to survive April with a .500 record, the Angels did little right against the Giants at AT&T Park. On Friday, they couldn't overcome a seventh-inning call that wasn't overturned. On Saturday, they had the tying run 90 feet away before Matt Joyce's two-out liner in the

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ninth hit Taylor Featherston in the leg. On Sunday, Jered Weaver's struggles continued and the Angels hardly had a chance against Tim Lincecum. Through it all, their offense batted .168 and went 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position. "We had a bad weekend," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, his team suffering its first road Interleague series sweep since May 2006, in Los Angeles. "We didn't do a lot of the things we need to do at the plate and on the field, and some things got away from us on the mound." The Angels are three games below .500, but that puts them only one game behind last year's pace through 25 games -- a year that ended with a Major League-leading 98 wins. "Because it's so early, it seems like we're far off," Angels catcher Chris Iannetta said. "We're really not. It's a pitch here and there, a hit here and there, and we're right back in it." But the first four weeks have nonetheless set off some alarming signs. The first is Weaver, who's throwing his fastball 84 mph -- nearly three full ticks below his average velocity the last two years -- and has a 6.29 ERA through his first 34 1/3 innings, a stretch that has seen him give up 45 hits and eight homers. "I have never started a season like this before," Weaver said. "It's frustrating. I'm not doing a very good job of helping the team win right now." The lineup isn't helping much, either. Last year, an Angels offense that led the Majors in runs was able to make up for a lot of deficiencies. So far this year, that same offense -- minus two notable exceptions in Josh Hamilton and Howie Kendrick -- seems a Mike Trout injury away from sheer ineptitude. The Angels rank 20th in the Majors in runs and 29th in OPS. Take out Trout, and they're batting a collective .213. "Of course we're surprised," Aybar said. "Our offense is good. It's been almost a month, and we still haven't done much. But there's still a lot of baseball left. We have to do the little things to win games."

Weaver has no answers for slump By Lyle Spencer SAN FRANCISCO -- This is all new to Jered Weaver. He's had rough starts and bad patches, but never like this. When you've been so successful for so long -- nine years -- you can't help but entertain doubts when everything seems to be collapsing at your feet. "I don't know," the Angels right-hander said, a distant look in his eyes following Sunday's five innings of searching for the right stuff in a 5-0 loss to Tim Lincecum that wrapped up a weekend sweep by the Giants. "I've never pitched like this before. I'm not really doing a good job of helping my team win now. It's tough. "I've got to figure out a way to drag myself out of this and move on. Nothing hurts [physically]. It feels like it's coming out weird, man. I've got no answers." By "coming out" he meant the baseball, from a right hand that has served him so well all these years. Weaver has been a 20-game winner, won 18 twice. He's been top five in the American League Cy Young Award balloting three years running (2010-12). He's thrown a no-hitter, started an All-Star Game, excelled in postseason play.

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Weaver is 32, not 38. But he's not the pitcher at the moment he always has been, and at 0-4 through six starts with a 6.29 ERA, it is eating him up. "I'm pretty much serving batting practice up there," Weaver said. Weaver's fastball topped out at 86 mph Sunday and hovered in the 83-85 range. His first pitch, to leadoff man Nori Aoki, sailed over the wall for Aoki's first homer of the season. "It definitely wasn't the way I wanted to start," Weaver said. "I told Chris [Iannetta, his catcher] he was going to swing at the first pitch. I was trying to catch him off-guard. It was up and middle in. What are you going to do? I've got to work with what I've got." Joe Panik stepped in and went deep over the same wall, his first homer of 2015. Four pitches and Weaver was two runs down. He rebounded after Angel Pagan's triple, keeping him at third by retiring Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford. Crawford's two-out, two-run double in the fifth ended any chance of a respectable outcome for Weaver. "Weave was a pitch or two from maybe getting through six innings with three runs," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "I know he's frustrated, disappointed with the results. Jered's such a competitor, that's what you'd expect. But I don't feel he's that far off." Panik and Pagan shared Scioscia's belief that Weaver is bound to snap out of it. "It was the first time I've seen him," Panik said. "I was watching video and talking to guys. They said he's trying to be more of a pitcher now, mixing his stuff up. I fouled a fastball to the pull side and told myself to stay back, and I caught a curveball a little out front. "He's a competitor. He's had a lot of success and I feel like he's going to come out of it. It's like with Timmy. Once you get a few good starts, you get the confidence back. Timmy doesn't have 97 [mph] in the tank anymore, but he's able to mix any one of his pitches in any count. He was impressive today." The Angels collected three singles and a walk in eight innings against Lincecum, who shaved his ERA to 2.40 and is 2-2 in five starts. Pagan hadn't faced Weaver since they were in the Minor Leagues, a decade ago. "He used to throw harder," Pagan said, "but he's more experienced now. He knows how to get you off-balance. He'll throw a fastball, then a changeup to get you to roll over. You have to be ready for everything. He's good; we just put some good at-bats up against him today." Angels shortstop Erick Aybar, who singled and walked against Lincecum, came up through the Halos' farm system with Weaver, whose first six Major League starts in 2006 were among the best in history. He was 6-0 with a 1.12 ERA. "First time," Aybar said in Spanish, asked if he's seen him struggle like this. "Everybody knows how Weaver is. When he's on the mound, he wants to compete and help the team. Everyone knows he's a good pitcher. He just needs to keep his head up. What happened, happened. Keep moving forward. There's still a lot of baseball left." Iannetta doesn't see much difference in Weaver's stuff from last season when he was 18-9 with a 3.59 ERA in 34 starts. "He's throwing not much different than last year," Iannetta said. "His stuff is good. He's making a few mistakes over the middle of the plate. This little funk he's in, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll pass." A humbling game, baseball. Even the best can lose their swagger and be dropped to their knees.

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Seeking first 5-0 start, Felix takes on Trout, Angels By Alden Gonzalez Mariners ace Felix Hernandez resumes his long-running rivalry with the Angels on Monday in Anaheim as the American League West clubs open a three-game series at Angel Stadium. Both teams are competing for second place in the early division race, looking to stay within arm's length of the red-hot Astros. Hernandez beat the Angels on Opening Day in Seattle, 4-1, as he threw seven innings of two-hit ball. Hernandez is 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA and is seeking to start his career with five straight wins for the first time in his 11 seasons. He's 12-13 with a 3.47 ERA In 41 starts against the Halos. He'll be opposed by Angels right-hander Matt Shoemaker, who is 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA. Shoemaker beat the Mariners in the third game of the season in Seattle, allowing three runs and six hits in six innings in a 5-3 win. Shoemaker is 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA in five career outings (four starts) against the Mariners. Three things to know about this game • Hernandez needs two strikeouts to reach 1,989 and pass Johan Santana for the most by a Venezuelan pitcher in Major League history. The 29-year-old passed Jamie Moyer for the most innings by a Mariners pitcher in his last start, leading that category with 2,095 1/3. • Mike Trout has had his share of success against Hernandez, batting .365/.386/.673 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 52 at-bats against The King. But Hernandez has had his way with many of the Angels. Albert Pujols has hit .205 with 11 strikeouts in 39 at-bats, Chris Iannetta has hit .091 (2-for-22), Kole Calhoun .056 (1-for-18) and Matt Joyce .048 (1-for-21). David Freese (0-for-13), Efren Navarro (0-for-9) and C.J. Cron (0-for-6) are still looking for their first hit against Hernandez. • Seattle right fielder Nelson Cruz brings a hot bat into the series. Cruz leads the AL with 13 home runs in 25 games. Three players in Major League history have hit 14 homers in their first 25 games -- Cy Williams of the 1923 Phillies, Pujols with the 2006 Cardinals and Alex Rodriguez with the 2007 Yankees. Cruz hasn't fared particularly well at Angel Stadium in his career, with a .218/.274/.381 line and nine home runs in 54 games.

FROM FOX SPORTS WEST

Week ahead for Angels: Back at The Big A for nine-game home stand By Rahshaun Haylock The week ahead The Angels return home for a nine-game home stand with some big division games on the slate. All games can be seen this week on FOX Sports West. On Monday, the Mariners will be in town for three. On Tuesday, which is Cinco de Mayo, there will be live Mariachi music and taco specials. Free sombreros will be given to fans in attendance in hopes of setting a Guinness World Record. The first place Astros then visit the Big A for a four-game series beginning on Thursday. The week behind

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The Bay Area wasn't too kind to the Angels. They returned to Anaheim on Sunday after getting just two wins on the six-game road trip. The Angels took two of three from the A's, but then got swept by the defending World Series champion Giants. Record and standings The Angels enter Monday 11-14 on the year and in second place in the American League West, seven games behind the first place Astros. At 18-7, Houston remains the only team in the A.L. West with an above .500 record. Thumb's up Backup second baseman Taylor Featherston recorded his first career hit in the Angels 6-5 win at Oakland last Thursday. He also scored his first two career runs in the game. Thumb's down Jered Weaver is in the biggest winless slump of his career to start a season. After giving up five earned runs on 10 hits to the Giants on Sunday, Weaver fell to 0-4 on the season, in six starts, with a 6.29 ERA. Player to watch Johnny Giavotella has four game-winning RBI this season, which is tied for third in Major League Baseball. That makes Giavotella responsible for half of the team's wins since Apr. 14. Stat to watch Games involving the Angels this season are normally decided early. This season the Halos are 10-1 when leading after seven innings. When trailing after seven innings, the club is 0-13.

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Giants beat Angels 5-0 behind Lincecum for 3-game sweep SAN FRANCISCO -- Tim Lincecum's fastball averages about 89 mph this season, down from 93-95 mph when he won consecutive NL Cy Young Awards in 2008 and `09. Even without that velocity, Lincecum has rediscovered winning form. Lincecum pitched three-hit ball over eight innings, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-0 Sunday for a three-game sweep. "He really had a good rhythm, good pace today and set the tone," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "Just a terrific job. His fastball command really can determine how his game goes." Lincecum (2-2) walked one and struck out four, lowering his ERA to 2.40. "I just tried to execute with the pitches from my gameplan," Lincecum said. "I knew they know I throw a lot of offspeed, so I tried to pick my spots to throw the fastball." Lincecum allowed only three runners in the first five innings then pitched out of two-on, no-outs jam in the sixth. Jean Machi struck out Mike Trout and Albert Pujols in a hitless ninth.

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Nori Aoki and Joe Panik hit consecutive first-inning home runs off Jered Weaver (0-4), the first time the Giants opened a game with consecutive home runs since Chuck Hiller and Duke Snider against St. Louis off Bob Gibson on May 27, 1964, according to STATS. Lincecum helped the offense with a pair of singles off Weaver. He also drew a walk off Cesar Ramos in the sixth. "I don't know if it's more confidence than luck," Lincecum said. "I don't expect to get hits so when I do, I think that's why I'm more happy than the next guy." San Francisco has won eight of 11 following a 4-10 start. Weaver (0-4) gave up five runs and 10 hits in five innings. The three-time All-Star is 0-5 with a 6.25 ERA since beating Texas on Sept. 20. "His margin of error is not usually what it is because of where his stuff is right now," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. "There's no magic pixie dust you can sprinkle on him and get him going right now." Aoki hit his first home run of the season on Weaver's first pitch of the afternoon. Three pitches later, Panik homered on a hanging curve. Angel Pagan came within 15 feet of making it three straight when he tripled off the brick wall in right-center, not far from where Panik's home run landed. San Francisco made it 3-0 in the third when Panik singled and scored as Brandon Belt hit into a forceout. Brandon Crawford hit a two-run, two-out double in the fifth. DYNAMIC DUO REUNITED Posey and Lincecum might be the two most recognizable players on the Giants roster but they hadn't worked together in a game since April 26, 2014. Lincecum said that the long layoff didn't seem to bother either player. "I think he's caught my stuff enough to know what I've got," Lincecum said. "I told him we'd just kind of read it throughout the day and see what kind of swings they were taking. Luckily enough it was enough to get through the eighth." TRAINER'S ROOM Angels: C Chris Iannetta, who sustained a cut finger on his throwing hand a week ago, singled in the sixth to end an 0-for-21 slide. ... Iannetta was batting in the ninth spot. Manager Mike Scioscia had Weaver batting eighth -- the first time in franchise history that a starting pitcher has batted eighth. Giants: RHP Matt Cain (flexor tendon strain) will continue to throw off flat ground for the next week. ... RHP Jake Peavey (back strain) will throw a bullpen session Tuesday. ... OF Hunter Pence (fractured forearm) took batting practice before the game for the first time since getting hurt. UP NEXT Angels: RHP Matt Shoemaker (2-1) starts Monday in Seattle and has not lost in five career games against the Mariners. Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (2-1) faces San Diego on Monday looking to redeem himself after giving up five runs and 10 hits in just three innings against the Padres on April 11.

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Mariners-Angels Preview The losses have piled up for the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels entering Monday night's meeting. The pitching matchup favors the Mariners, who will look to Felix Hernandez to extend his recent dominance in the series. Hernandez (4-0, 1.82 ERA) has led Seattle to wins in each of his five starts this year, and his team has gone 24-8 in his last 36 outings. The Mariners need the right-hander to play the stopper role again following a four-game sweep by Houston. Seattle (10-15) nearly overcame a five-run deficit Sunday but fell 7-6. "It was a tough game where they could have laid down, but they fought back and really grinded it out," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "They showed a lot of fortitude, which leads me to believe this team is going to be just fine." Hernandez's recent history against the Angels (11-14) is another reason for McClendon to be confident. The ace has been overpowering in his last nine meetings, going 5-1 with a 1.07 ERA and striking out 81 in 59 innings. He's given up four or fewer hits in the past eight matchups. The most recent came on opening day April 6, when he struck out 10 in seven innings of a 4-1 victory in which he yielded a first-inning home run to Mike Trout and retired 17 of the next 20. Hernandez allowed two hits. Trout is the one Angel that Hernandez hasn't been able to figure out, with the reigning AL MVP batting .365 with three home runs and eight extra-base hits in the matchup. Erick Aybar owns Los Angeles' second-best average against Hernandez at .215 while Albert Pujols has struck out 11 times -- his most against any pitcher since joining the Angels in 2012. Hernandez needs two strikeouts to reach 1,989 and pass Johan Santana for the most by a Venezuelan pitcher in major league history. The Angels' Matt Shoemaker (2-1, 6.00) threw 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball in his last start, a 6-3 loss at Oakland on Wednesday. He didn't get the decision. The right-hander, though, allowed three runs in six innings of a 5-3 victory April 8 to win his third consecutive start against Seattle. He's 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA in five games -- four starts -- in his career versus the Mariners. The Angels need that trend to continue after being swept in three games by San Francisco. "We had a bad weekend," manager Mike Scioscia told MLB's official website. "We didn't do a lot of the things we need to do at the plate and on the field, and some things got away from us on the mound." Los Angeles managed three singles in a 5-0 defeat Sunday. "Of course we're surprised," Aybar said. "Our offense is good. It's been almost a month, and we still haven't done much. But there's still a lot of baseball left. We have to do the little things to win games."

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FROM BLEACHER REPORT

Albert Pujols' Health Is Critical to the Angels' Postseason Hopes By Anthony Witrado Albert Pujols’ discomfort was mild, but it was enough to cause serious concern. When the future-Hall of Fame first baseman grabbed his left hamstring Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Angels’ panic needle moved, even if they would not admit it publicly. And when he had to be removed from that game and missed the following two, it undoubtedly brought on worry. With Josh Hamilton removed from the Angels’ current situation and with the Angels ‘ offense showing only whimpers of life, Pujols’ health is now essential to any success the team might have, and, in turn, their postseason hopes. Even though he is struggling to find an offensive groove, Pujols’ presence in the fat part of the Angels’ lineup is still critical, since it appears the team’s silent offseason will spill over into the July trade deadline. That means outside help is not on the way for a team that is 11-14 partly because of a roster that sits near the bottom of the majors in several offensive categories. “We didn’t have a good series offensively …,” manager Mike Scioscia told reporters after the Angels were swept by the San Francisco Giants over the weekend, a series in which they hit .168. “We’re still trying to get some groupings that work. Seems like couple guys show some signs, then slide back a little bit, but we’re going to find it.” Pujols is clearly not alone on the list of the team’s struggling hitters. The Angels are 28th in the majors in average (.224), 27th in OBP (.289), 28th in slugging percentage (.339), 29th in OPS (.628) and 27th in doubles (32). They also have scored three or fewer runs in 14 of their 25 games, including being shut out Sunday. This coming from an offense that led the majors in runs last season, and from a team that won a major league-best 98 games last year. While the pitching has not helped much—the rotation’s 4.26 ERA is 20th in the majors—the offense has been bad over a large enough sample that it has to be a major concern by now. “It’s just a stretch where we haven’t hit to our capability,” Chris Iannetta said to Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register. “I don’t think it’s going to last all year... I think it’s going to turn around. Get in a groove, catch fire. We’ll start swinging it better.” Pujols has also had enough plate appearances that his numbers show more significance than just a brief slump. He is hitting .212/.287/.388 with a .675 OPS in 98 plate appearances. Since returning from the annoying hamstring discomfort, Pujols is 2-for-8 with a mammoth home run. Going into Sunday, Pujols’ line-drive rate was 14.5 percent, his lowest output since 2009 and what would be the worst of his storied career. The American League average was 20.6 percent before the start of Sunday’s games, according to Fangraphs. For what it’s worth, Pujols went into Sunday seeing 39.8 percent of pitches thrown to him ending up within the strike zone, according to Baseball Info Solutions (via Fangraphs). That number would by far be a career low. Also, Pujols was swinging at 44.8 percent of those pitches, his lowest mark since 2010.

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Common sense would tell us line drives are more likely to fall for hits. It also says it is more difficult for a hitter to smack a line drive if the pitch is out of the zone. So far, it appears that is one of Pujols’ negative trends through the season’s first month. Despite those troubling tendencies, the Angels still need him healthy and in the lineup. As the team’s No 3 hitter, he has been sandwiched between No. 2 hitter Mike Trout and a flurry of ineffective cleanup hitters. But Pujols’ brief injury caused Scioscia to move leadoff hitter Kole Calhoun into the No. 4 spot, and he has remained there for the two games since Pujols returned. Calhoun is hitting .309/.385/.469 with an .854 OPS. Aside from Trout, he has been the team’s best hitter. Because of that, Calhoun could stay in that new place as long as Erick Aybar can produce from the leadoff spot, although he’s hit .148/.207/.185 from there in seven games this season. “If the whole lineup makes more sense with Kole out of the leadoff position, we’ll do it, but I don’t know if we’re at that point right now,” Scioscia told reporters Saturday. Jason O. Watson/Getty Images Calhoun’s spot in the order would matter much less if the rest of the lineup remembered how to reach base, and that includes Pujols. When he is producing, he is capable of masking the non-production of others because of his ability to draw walks and club extra-base hits. Pujols showed last season he is still able to do those things, albeit at a declining level from what he was before signing with the Angles four seasons ago. Regardless of where he is at in his career, Pujols is till a big enough piece to the Angels’ puzzle that he has to be healthy and productive for them to accomplish their goals. If neither happens, the Angles might find themselves home for the playoffs for the third time in Pujols’ four years with the club.