JOHN LACKEY (7-2, 2.58)

  Lackey had allowed 23 hits and 11 runs in two starts and 11 2/3 innings before reeling it back in a bit against Boston in his last start. The Angels’ ace allowed five hits and three runs in seven innings in beating the Red Sox in the first game of the second half. The right-hander has pitched well against the Indians - 2.85 ERA - but has only three victories in eight decisions. In his most recent start, Sept. 7, 2007, he allowed six hits and just one run in seven innings, but was stuck with a no-decision in a game the Angels would win 3-2. He did struggle a bit against the Indians in 2006, losing two games in a stretch where he dropped four of six decisions and six of nine. Lackey has pitched very well in the daylight this season, winning both of his starts and allowing only seven hits and two earned runs in 16 innings, striking out 16 and walking only four. In beating Tampa Bay on June 11 and the Dodgers on June 29, he has held opponent’s to a .135 batting average. 

Lackey vs. the Indians:

Hafner: 4 for 23, .174; 0 HR, 1 RBI 

Martinez: 9 for 19, .474; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Peralta: 8 for 17, .471; 0 HR, 2 RBI

Dellucci: 5 for 16, .313; 1 HR, 3 RBI

Blake: 1 for 15, .067; 0 HR, 2 RBI

Sizemore: 3 for 9, .333; 0 HR, 1 RBI

Garko: 1 for 5, .200; 0 HR, 1 RBI

Carroll: 0 for 4, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Marte: 0 for 3, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Choo: 2 for 3, .667; 0 HR, 1 RBI

Gutierrez: 0 for 3, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Cabrera: 0 for 3, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

AARON LAFFEY (5-6, 3.61)

  The 23-year-old left-hander has made one career start against the Angels - on Sept. 9, 2007 at Angel Stadium. He went five innings, allowing six hits and two runs (one earned) and was credited with a victory. He has not always been that sharp this season, and has really struggled on the road. Laffey has made six starts away from Progressive Field, and is 0-3 with an ERA of 5.94. He has had 59 runners on base (45 hits and 14 walks) in just 33 1/3 innings, and opponent’s are batting .333 against him. In his last start, at Seattle, he made it through only 3 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits and eight runs, though only three were earned. Repeat, that was against the Mariners, who are 12th in the league in batting and last in on-base percentage and runs scored. The Indians make note of the fact the Laffey has held opponents to two earned runs or less in nine of 15 starts, but only two of those nine starts were on the road. 

Laffey vs. the Angels:

Anderson: 1 for 3, .333; 0 HR, 0 RBI 

Hunter: 1 for 3, .333; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Izturis: 1 for 3, .333; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Willits: 0 for 3, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Kendrick: 0 for 3, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Rivera: 0 for 2, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Kotchman: 2 for 2, 1.000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Quinlan: 1 for 1, 1.000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Napoli: 0 for 1, .000; 0 HR, 1 RBI

  The streak is over, kaput.

  After 29 consecutive stolen bases against Angels’ pitchers and catchers, Jeff Mathis on Tuesday threw out the Indians’ Jamey Carroll in the first inning of their 3-2 victory. It was the first base stealer the Angels had cut down since June 18, when the New York Mets’ Marlon Anderson was thrown out. And, it wasn’t close - Carroll was out by plenty.

  ”Made a good throw and got him off the sack,” Mathis said.

  For the Angels, that streak really wasn’t much of a big deal.

  It was a nice conversation piece, grist for the mill as they make their way to an A.L. West title. But it was the Angels’ pitchers that kept it from it becoming an issue.

  There were 27 base runners that accounted for those 29 consecutive stolen bases - the Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins stole second and then third on June 22 and the Blue Jays’ Alex Rios stole second and then third on July 5 - but only six of those 27 runners eventually crossed the plate and only one was decisive in a loss.

   That was on June 28 - the game in which Jered Weaver and Jose Arrendondo didn’t allow a hit and lost to the Dodgers, 1-0. In the fifth inning of that game Matt Kemp reached on an error by Weaver, stole second, went to third when the throw by Mathis went into center field, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

  ”It says a lot. Obviously those guys have been carrying us the whole first half. When we weren’t swinging the bats they were putting zeroes up, and when we weren’t throwing guys out they were leaving them out there on the bases. That’s just a tribute to them,” Mathis said. ”They go out and handle their business, man.”

  The Angels were 10-5 in the games during the streak, and there was a stretch of 10 in a row where the base stealer did not make it around to score.

  There was a second Indians’ base runner thrown out trying to steal in the Angels’ victory - Darren Oliver threw to Casey Kotchman who threw to Maicer Izturis to wipe out Asdrubal Cabrera in the fourth inning. … 

  The error by Maicer Izturis that allowed Carroll to reach base was the first he has commited at shortstop this season, ending a streak of 43 consecutive error-less games.

  That was the longest in the major leagues this season at shortstop.

  Don’t let the small sampling of games played at all diminish that. There are some shortstops that have really struggled in the field including the former Angel David Eckstein, who has made nine errors in 55 games with Toronto. The Pirates’ Brian Bixler has made six errors in 29 games at short, while the Rays’ Ben Zobrist has made six in just 18 games and the Orioles’ Freddie Bynum has made five errors in 37 games. …

   Jered Weaver faced 15 batters in the first three innings and went to 3-ball counts with six of them. He also threw a first-pitch strike to only six batters.

  He was taken out there, replaced by Oliver, because of tightness in the middle of his back. …

   Weaver opened the game giving up a home run to Grady Sizemore on a 3-1 pitch. It was the sixth leadoff home run for the Indians’ center fielder this season, a club record.

  Sizemore has 17 career leadoff home runs. …

  The Angels’ victory gives them a chance to extend a streak to 14 in which they have not lost a series to an American League opponent.

  They were swept in a three-game series at Tampa Bay May 9-11, losing 2-0, 2-0 and 8-5 to the Rays. Since then, the Angels are 11-0-2. They have split the first two games of this series against Cleveland, and are coming in off a three-game sweep against the Red Sox.

  Before that the Angels took two of three at Oakland, split a four-game series at Texas and took two of three in series at home against Toronto, Oakland and Tampa Bay. Continuing to work backward on the schedule, the Angels took two of three at Oakland and swept a three-game series at Seattle; took two of three from Toronto and Detroit at Angel Stadium; took two of three against the White Sox in Chicago and at Toronto; and they started their run with a four-game split against the White Sox at home.

  Jeff Mathis drilled a solo home run in the fifth inning to give the Angels a lead and a bullpen pressed into action when Jered Weaver had to leave with tightness in the middle of his back after recording just nine outs made it stand up.

  Weaver struggled with his command, throwing first-pitch strikes to just six of 15 batters and 77 pitches in three innings. But Darren Oliver came on to throw 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, followed by 1 1/3 innings from Jose Arredondo and one inning from Scot Shields and Frankie Rodriguez.

  Rodriguez posted his 41st save, striking out David Dellucci, retiring Asdrubal Cabrera on a ground ball and after walking Grady Sizemore on five pitches, striking out pinch-hitter Ryan Garko.

  The home run by Mathis was his seventh - it came on a 2-2 pitch from Indians’ starter Matt Ginter. The Angels’ catcher in the first inning had ended a streak of 29 consecutive stolen bases, throwing out Jamey Carroll trying to steal second.

  The Angels had not thrown out an opposing base stealer since June 18, against the New York Mets.

  Jeff Weaver has the Angels in an early hole, albeit only 1-0, and is struggling with his command.

  The right-hander gave up a lead off home run to Grady Sizemore and a two-out double to Casey Blake and needed 27 pitches to work his way out of the top of the first.

  Might not be  a problem, though. The Angels are about to step in against Matt Ginter.

It’s that time of year. With the in-season trade deadline nine days away, rumors are popping up all over the place.

Today’s gem popped up in the St. Paul Pioneer Press and had the Angels acquiring Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira in exchange for utility man Robb Quinlan and perennial prospect Brandon Wood. The columnist reporting this was so confident in its credibility that he included it near the bottom of his column under the heading “Don’t Print That.”

When told about the rumor before tonight’s game, Angels GM Tony Reagins’ first response was laughter. Then, “Wow,” holding his hands out at his sides.

Read the rest of this entry »

  Here are the lineups for Tuesday, Jered Weaver and the Angels against Matt Ginter and Cleveland …

  CLEVELAND

  CF Sizemore

  2B Carroll

  DH Francisco

  1B Blake

  LF Choo

  C Shoppach

  3B Marte

  RF Gutierrez

  SS Cabrera

  SP Ginter

  ANGELS

  3B Figgins

  1B Kotchman

  SS Izturis

  RF Guerrero

  DH Anderson

  2B Kendrick

  LF Rivera

  C Mathis

  CF Willits

  SP Weaver

  Torii Hunter, who left Tuesday to be with his ailing grandmother, has been placed on the bereavement list.

  To replace Hunter on the 25-man roster, the Angels recalled Sean Rodriguez from Triple-A Salt Lake.

JERED WEAVER (8-8, 4.03)

  Since allowing eight hits and six earned runs in a June 16 loss to the New York Mets, Weaver has been on a little bit of a roll. The 25-year-old right-hander has allowed two earned runs or less in his past four starts, though, curiously, the Angels are only 2-2 in those games. He took a no-decision in his last start, at Texas, despite allowing seven hits and two runs (one earned) in six innings. And, of course, he was on the losing end when allowing an unearned run on no hits against the Dodgers. Weaver has not had much success against the Indians in his career, going 1-1 with an ERA of 5.09, allowing 13 earned runs in 23 innings in four starts. His most recent start against Cleveland was on Sept. 9, 2007 at Angel Stadium. He gave up nine hits and six runs in just five innings including a three-run home run to Ryan Garko. Weaver had a 2-0 lead going into the fourth inning, but gave up five runs including the homer.

Weaver vs. the Indians:

Sizemore: 4 for 12, .333; 1 HR, 1 RBI

Peralta: 2 for 9, .222; 0 HR, 1 RBI

Hafner: 0 for 9, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Blake: 2 for 7, .286; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Martinez: 3 for 7, .429; 0 HR, 1 RBI

Choo: 2 for 5, .400; 0 HR, 1 RBI

Garko: 2 for 5, .400; 1 HR, 3 RBI

Barfield: 0 for 3, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Cabrera: 2 for 3, .667; 0 HR, 2 RBI

Shoppach: 0 for 3, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Marte: 0 for 2, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Gutierrez: 2 for 2, 1.000; 0 HR, 1 RBI

Dellucci: 0 for 2, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

MATT GINTER (1-0, 0.00)

  The Indians’ right-hander returned to the major leagues and did a number for five innings on Tampa Bay in his first major league start since September, 2005. The Rays had at least one runner in scoring position in the first two innings, but failed to come up with a clutch hit. Tampa Bay was 0 for 4 with a runner in scoring position with two strikeouts. The July 12 victory for Ginter was his first in the major leagues since May 21, 2004, when he was with the New York Mets. The Indians purchased his contract from Triple-A Buffalo when in need of a starting pitcher after trading C.C. Sabathia to Milwaukee - he was 6-6 with an ERA of 4.14 in the minors and had won six of his last eight decisions. Before the start against the Rays, his most recent start in the bigs was at Angel Stadium. Pitching for Detroit, he allowed 10 hits and five earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings on Sept. 18, 2005, and exited with an ERA of 6.17.

Ginter vs. the Angels:

Anderson: 6 for 11, .545; 1 HR, 3 RBI

Hunter: 2 for 10, .200; 0 HR, 1 RBI

Figgins: 1 for 7, .143; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Guerrero: 3 for 6, .500; 0 HR, 1 RBI

Rivera: 2 for 4, .500; 1 HR, 4 RBI

Quinlan: 1 for 2, .500; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Izturis: 0 for 2, .000; 0 HR, 0 RBI

Matthews: 0 for 2, .000; 0 HR, 1 RBI

  So, Gary Matthews got a start on Monday against Cleveland - only his second since Manager Mike Scioscia pushed Juan Rivera and his bat into the Angels’ outfield mix.

  It was not a good night.

  Matthews dropped a fly ball in right field, setting up an unearned run, and he went 0 for 4 at the plate with two strikeouts, failing to get the baseball out of the infield. He grounded out to short in the fourth inning, and back to the pitcher in the eighth.

  In his previous start, it was basically the same thing. July 12 at Oakland, an 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. He did at least get one ball to the outfield, flying out to left.

  But, now that it is clear Matthews knee problems are not going to magically disappear, why not just put him on the disabled list to get healthy, whether it takes two weeks, two months or all of the way up to spring training in 2009? Because of the knee - and his on-going problems at the plate - he is not going to get regular playing time. And his problems at the plate won’t be solved without some at-bats.

  ”We’ve talked about that,” Scioscia said. ”But I think the D.L. would be a last resort. A two-week D.L. is not going to get him healthy, a two-month D.L. is not going to get him healthy. This is going to take some major time  to get 100 percent. If he can’t function, obviously you have no recourse. But we’re going to see what he can do and if he can contribute and can help us. If it’s going the opposite way and it gets as inflammed as it was a couple of weeks ago, then we’ll have a decision to make.”

  The thing is, the Angels have Matthews under contract through 2011 - and he is due to be paid $10 million in 2009, $11 million in 2010 and $12 million in 2011. The full no-trade clause in his contract does become a limited no-trade clause (he can block deals to four teams) after the 2009 season.

  They need the guy to function. But if he is not healthy, can they reasonably expect something significantly better than the numbers that he has procuded to this point?

  Matthews is hitting .147 (5 for 34) in July. He doesn’t have a multi-hit game since June 17 when he went 2 for 4 against the New York Mets. He has almost twice as many strikeouts this month (9) as base hits.

  Scioscia said they will see on Tuesday how Matthews comes out of his nine innings, whether or not he was set back or felt he can take another step forward.

  ”No probability (on using the disabled list) right now,” he said. ”We’re going to assess on a daily basis what he can do and see where he can fit in and what kind of role he can carve out.”

  The home run by Howie Kendrick in the eighth inning extended an Angels’ streak to five games with at least one home run, not that it did much for the end result.

  The Angels went a season high nine games with a homer from April 6 to April 15 and have had two streaks of seven consecutive games with a home run - June 6 to June 13 and June 30 to July 7. …

  Kendrick has three home runs this season, all coming in the past eight games. …

  Justin Speier gave up a home run to Jhonny Peralta, the 10th that the former set up man has allowed.

  Speier is tied for second among American League relief pitchers in home runs allowed, one behind the Minnesota Twins’ Brian Bass and tied with the New York Yankees’ Kyle Farnsworth.

  Of course, Bass has given up his 11 home runs in 58 2/3 innings and Farnsworth has given up 10 in 42 innings. Speier has thrown only 39 2/3 innings this season.

  And, though, Speier obviously is still pitching for the Angels, we use the term ”former setup man” because he no longer gets anywhere close to those seventh or eighth inning game-on-the-line situations. He has 10 holds this season, but his last one was on June 4 at Seattle - he has pitched in 15 games since.

  Here’s a quick look at when the right-hander, who is in the second year of a four-year $18 million contract, has been used by Manager Mike Scioscia lately …

  June 20, at Philadelphia - entered in the ninth inning, the Angels up 7-1.

  June 25, at Washington - entered in the seventh inning, the Angels down 4-2.

  June 27, at Dodgers - entered in the sixth inning, the Angels down 3-0.

  June 30 vs. Oakland - entered with two outs in the eighth inning, the Angels down 5-1.

  July 4 vs. Toronto - entered in the eighth inning, the Angels up 8-1.

  July 5 vs. Toronto - entered in the seventh inning, the Angels down 6-2.

  July 10 at Texas - entered in the 10th inning, the score tied 10-10.

  July 11 at Oakland - entered in the third inning, the Angels down 7-2.

  July 18 vs. Boston - entered in the eighth inning, the Angels up 11-3.

  July 21 vs. Cleveland - entered in the eighth inning, the Angels down 4-1.

  In the outing at Texas on July 10, a game the Angels won 11-10 in 11 innings, Scioscia had already used Scot Shields and Jose Arredondo when he went to Speier. …

  The Angels were the first team to reach 60 victories this season. In each of the past four years, the first team to 60 has advanced to the World Series - Boston in 2007, Detroit in 2006, the Chicago White Sox in 2005 and St. Louis in 2004. …

  Garret Anderson went 1 for 4 with a double and a run scored on Monday against the Indians. After hitting only .188 (15 for 80) in June, he is batting .346 (18 for 52) in July.

  Anderson also is closing in on a career milestone - he is three runs scored short of 1,000. …

   The error by Gary Matthews was the 17th that the Angels have committed over the past 20 games and it led to an unearned run.

  In those 20 games, the Angels have yielded 11 unearned runs. They had allowed only 17 in their first 79 games. …