LukeHochevar
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W6 | 36 |
| L8 | 51 |
| G19 | 119 |
| IP110.0 | 695.0 |
| BB33 | 229 |
| SO81 | 468 |
JeredWeaver
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W12 | 94 |
| L1 | 47 |
| G17 | 193 |
| IP110.2 | 1234.0 |
| BB24 | 332 |
| SO81 | 1050 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W6 | 36 |
| L8 | 51 |
| G19 | 119 |
| IP110.0 | 695.0 |
| BB33 | 229 |
| SO81 | 468 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W12 | 94 |
| L1 | 47 |
| G17 | 193 |
| IP110.2 | 1234.0 |
| BB24 | 332 |
| SO81 | 1050 |
Jered Weaver is among the best pitchers in baseball, and he leaves little doubt of that status when he takes the mound at home for the Los Angeles Angels .
Weaver looks to continue his dazzling winning streak with another dominant performance against the Kansas City Royals in the finale of this three-game series Wednesday.
Weaver (12-1, 2.20 ERA) is among the major league leaders in wins and ERA, and his 30 victories since the start of 2011 are second only to Detroit's Justin Verlander . He has won all six of his starts since returning from a stint on the disabled list June 20, posting a 1.51 ERA in that stretch.
The right-hander, who finished second to Verlander in the AL Cy Young voting last year, is especially dominant at home, going 15-2 with a 1.46 ERA in 23 starts over the last two seasons. That includes a staggering 7-0 record and 0.67 ERA in eight games in 2012.
Weaver has allowed one run in 21 innings while winning his last three home starts, including Friday's 6-1 victory over AL West-leading Texas.
"That's what an ace brings to the table every time he gets on the mound," catcher Bobby Wilson told the Angels' official website. "It's that competitive edge of, 'No matter what happens, I'm going to give everything I've got and I'm going to compete, and I'm going to make the pitches and come up clutch with some important pitches when we need it the most.'"
Weaver's last five meetings with Kansas City (41-55) have ended in victories for Los Angeles, while he's 4-0 with a 0.50 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 36 1-3 innings.
The ace fanned 10 Royals while yielding four hits in eight innings of a 5-0 home victory on opening day April 6.
The Angels (53-45) could use another strong performance after losing 4-1 to Kansas City on Tuesday following a 6-3 victory to open this series the previous night.
Mike Trout is looking to rebound after his 12-game hitting streak ended with an 0-for-3 performance Tuesday. The AL's leading hitter at .354, Trout failed to score a run for the first time in 16 games, ending a franchise-record streak.
The Royals are trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since a season high-tying four-game winning streak June 25-29. They've dropped 16 of 22 since, including nine of 12 as the visitor.
Luke Hochevar (6-8, 4.91) will take the mound, and he was solid in his only previous appearance in Anaheim on April 7. The right-hander tossed six scoreless innings before giving up two runs and getting pulled with one out in the seventh during a 6-3 victory.
He had been 0-3 with an 8.02 ERA over his previous four starts against the Angels.
Hochevar has been sharp recently, going 3-1 with a 2.50 ERA in his last six starts. He could have used some help from the lineup Friday, when he yielded one run in seven innings and retired the last 10 batters he faced in a 2-1, 11-inning loss to Minnesota.
"I'm just really encouraged with how he threw the ball," manager Ned Yost said. "He was mixing his curve and got a couple of outs with his slider, and he located his fastball well."
Kansas City's Lorenzo Cain is hitting .390 with three homers and 13 RBIs in 12 games since returning from a groin injury that sidelined him for three months. He was 2 for 4 with a two-run homer Tuesday, but he's struck out in all three of his at-bats against Weaver.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Yuniesky Betancourt | 45 | .289 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 6 | .333 | .777 | .444 |
| Billy Butler | 26 | .192 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | .222 | .453 | .231 |
| Lorenzo Cain | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Alcides Escobar | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .400 | .200 |
| Jeff Francoeur | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .600 | .400 |
| Chris Getz | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .429 | .629 | .200 |
| Alex Gordon | 18 | .222 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | .364 | .753 | .389 |
| Eric Hosmer | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Mitch Maier | 11 | .182 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .182 | .364 | .182 |
| Mike Moustakas | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Brayan Pena | 6 | .167 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .167 | .334 | .167 |
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Bobby Abreu | 17 | .412 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .444 | 1.091 | .647 |
| Erick Aybar | 13 | .308 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .400 | 1.169 | .769 |
| Peter Bourjos | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .400 | .200 |
| Alberto Callaspo | 4 | .500 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .600 | 1.100 | .500 |
| Torii Hunter | 15 | .333 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .333 | .866 | .533 |
| Chris Iannetta | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .333 | 1.000 | .667 |
| Maicer Izturis | 9 | .222 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .364 | .920 | .556 |
| Howie Kendrick | 10 | .500 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .545 | 1.245 | .700 |
| Kendrys Morales | 5 | .800 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .800 | 1.600 | .800 |
| Albert Pujols | 5 | .400 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1.100 | .600 |
| Mark Trumbo | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .400 | .200 |
| Vernon Wells | 9 | .111 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .273 | .495 | .222 |
| Bobby Wilson | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .000 |
Kansas City Royals |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| July 05, 2012 | Luke Hochevar | Day-to-Day | Sprained right ankle |
| June 18, 2012 | Chris Getz | 15-Day DL | Lateral strain in lower left leg |
| June 18, 2012 | Chris Getz | 15-Day DL | Lateral strain in lower left leg |
| June 07, 2012 | Felipe Paulino | 60-Day DL | Strained right groin |
| May 26, 2012 | Jarrod Dyson | Day-to-Day | Left game - Right hamstring injury |
| May 22, 2012 | Chris Getz | 15-Day DL | Left ribcage contusion |
Los Angeles Angels |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| July 09, 2012 | Jordan Walden | 15-Day DL | Strained right biceps |
| July 04, 2012 | Dan Haren | 15-Day DL | Lower back stiffness |
| July 04, 2012 | Dan Haren | 15-Day DL | Lower back stiffness |
| July 02, 2012 | Mike Trout | Day-to-Day | Jammed right pinky finger |
| June 19, 2012 | Jerome Williams | 15-Day DL | Shortness of breath |
| June 19, 2012 | Jerome Williams | 15-Day DL | Shortness of breath |
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Five innings on a muggy afternoon were enough this time for Jered Weaver .
Weaver won his seventh straight start to tie a career best and Torii Hunter , Mike Trout and Bobby Wilson homered for the Los Angeles Angels in an 11-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
"Anytime your team gives you eight runs to work with, the last thing you want to do is go out there and throw only five innings," Weaver said. "It was a rough one. But we came out on top, which was the most important thing."
The Angels won minus slugger Albert Pujols , who was out because of a bruised right elbow.
Weaver (13-1) threw 101 pitches, allowing two runs and three hits. His AL-leading ERA rose from 2.20 to 2.27 because of Billy Butler 's two-run homer in the fifth.
"If you can get two runs off of Weaver and get him out after the fifth inning, you've done a real good job. We did both of those things, but the score was lopsided by then," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
"We did exactly what we wanted to do with Weaver. He's a guy who's got great command, never gives in, throws the ball off the corners trying to get you to swing at it, but we did a good job of taking those pitches," he said.
Weaver's only loss was at Texas on May 13, when he pitched 3 1-3 innings and gave up eight runs. The All-Star right-hander is 16-2 with a 1.53 ERA in 24 starts at Angel Stadium since the beginning of last season and has yielded only six earned runs over 58 2-3 innings at home this year.
Los Angeles staked Weaver to an 8-0 lead before Butler hit his 20th homer. Jeff Francoeur added a three-run shot in the eighth against Scott Downs to snap an 0 for 15 drought and slice the Angels' lead to 8-5.
But Trout and Hunter homered back-to-back in the bottom half against Luis Coleman. Trout's homer was his 16th, Hunter's his 11th.
Hunter had four hits and drove in three runs.
Weaver, who had hit only one batter in 110 2-3 innings this season coming into the game, plunked Lorenzo Cain his first two times up. Cain, who homered Tuesday night in Kansas City's 4-1 win, hadn't been hit in his previous 217 plate appearances since Aug. 12, 2010, when he was with Milwaukee.
"I'm not one to go out there and hit people, obviously," Weaver said. "I think I hit one or two guys a year. The command was just not there today. I don't know what my first-pitch strike (ratio) was, but I know it wasn't very good."
"It was just one of those days where I couldn't find the release point and was a little erratic," he said.
Royals starter Luke Hochevar (6-9) was ejected in the fourth inning by plate umpire Bob Davidson after hitting Trout - immediately after Wilson's leadoff homer gave the Angels an 8-0 lead.
"He thought I hit Trout because I gave up the home run, but I'm not that type of player. And I'm not going to just start drilling guys out of frustration," Hochevar said. "I don't do that. I'm pitching the guy in, and one gets away and hits him. But he made his call, and it is what it is."
Hochevar was charged with eight runs - six earned - and nine hits in his three-plus innings, along with two wild pitches. He was 3-1 with a 2.50 ERA over his previous six starts.
"It was just poor execution. My breaking stuff was up and hanging, and they put some good swings on it," Hochevar said. "My whole focus is executing quality pitches. And when you don't execute, this is what happens. I've just got to make better pitches. That's the bottom line."
Hochevar gave up singles to his first three batters, all of whom scored. Trout, whose franchise-record run-scoring streak ended at 15 games on Tuesday, came home on a wild pitch to Mark Trumbo . Hunter scored on a groundout by Kendrys Morales , and former Royal Alberto Callaspo delivered Trumbo with the first of his two doubles.
The Angels parlayed two Kansas City errors into three more runs in the second inning despite getting only one ball out of the infield.
"We don't play sloppy very often, but we did today in the first two innings. That's for sure," Yost said. "It was a day where Hoch didn't have his good stuff, and they were on him the whole time. Over the course of 162 games, you're bound to have a few of these. At least we rebounded after the second inning and played pretty decent baseball from that point on."
NOTES: Weaver has a 1.74 ERA during his winning streak - his longest since 2006, when he won his first seven big league starts ... Hochevar has hit eight batters this season, tying his career high from 2009. ... Butler is one homer away from equaling his career-high total from 2009. ... Angels manager Mike Scioscia announced that struggling RHP Ervin Santana will be pushed back in the rotation to get a couple of needed "power" bullpen sessions in, and won't start again until next week's series against the AL West-leading Texas Rangers in Arlington - with the same 15-out limit Scioscia already had imposed on him. ... Angels Gold Glove SS Erick Aybar missed his fourth straight game after fouling a ball off his right big toe.