Major League Baseball

Angels 4, Mariners 0

Published Jun. 15, 2011 6:34 a.m. ET

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The last two times Jered Weaver made a start away from home, he never saw any runs show up in the Angels' column.

By the time he took his first steps toward the mound Tuesday night, there were already four on the board.

That's all Los Angeles would get. That was all Weaver would need.

Weaver threw a five-hitter for his second shutout of the season and finally got some run support on the road thanks to a four-run first inning as the Angels won consecutive games for the first time since late May with a 4-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.

The Angels took advantage of one awful inning from Seattle starter Doug Fister (3-8) and Weaver made that one outburst stand up to give him his eighth win of the season and the Angels franchise their 4,000th.

''It wasn't startling, it was awesome,'' Weaver said. ''Anytime you get a four-spot in the first, you're going to feel more comfortable going out there.''

Weaver didn't feel dominant, struggling with his fastball control at times, but he looked overpowering against the scuffling Mariners offense. Weaver (8-4) gave up four singles and Ichiro Suzuki's ninth-inning double in his third complete game of the season. He struck out six and walked only one, and matched his career high with 128 pitches.

He finished the game getting Adam Kennedy to foul out, who was going to be his final batter no matter what. After dropping seven of eight during a lengthy homestand, the Angels are 2-0 on their longest road trip of the season and back within three games of .500.

''You worry about attacking hitters and working off your fastball,'' Weaver said. ''With a four-run lead in this ballpark, I was able to let the fastball play a little more than I have in the past and got on a good roll.''

Los Angeles had scored more than three runs in two of its previous 12 games before Tuesday's first inning, although that should have featured one less run. Peter Bourjos' two-out double down the left-field line was ruled fair by third-base umpire Chad Fairchild, but on replay was shown to be clearly foul. That hit capped a miserable inning for Fister, who needed 42 pitches just to escape the first and an inning of sloppiness for Seattle's defense.

It started immediately with Erick Aybar's leadoff double and Torii Hunter's RBI single. Mariners third baseman Chone Figgins cut off Mike Carp's throw from left field although it appeared Seattle would have a play at the plate on Aybar. Hunter was caught too far off first, but managed to get back to the bag after the Mariners botched the rundown.

Vernon Wells later reached when Kennedy's throw for a potential double play pulled Justin Smoak at first. Howie Kendrick and Russell Branyan then followed with sharp RBI singles before Bourjos' borderline double.

It was the highest-scoring first inning of the season for the Angels.

''We did a good job situational hitting, good job of getting runners in scoring position the first inning. Then I think (Fister) found his little slider and used it effectively against lefties and righties and settled down,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

From there, it was all Weaver.

Weaver allowed a pair of singles in the third inning to Carp and Suzuki, but escaped his only jam of the night when Brendan Ryan struck out to end the inning. Carp was the only Seattle baserunner to advance past first base until the ninth when Suzuki led off with a double to deep center field. But Weaver recovered to get Ryan, Justin Smoak and Kennedy to close out his seventh career complete game.

''From my end what I saw, I didn't see too much to hit,'' Ryan said.

Weaver won for the fifth time in his last six starts against Seattle, who dropped back to .500 (34-34) for the first time since May 29. Weaver also lowered his ERA to 2.06, tying him with Boston's Josh Beckett for the best mark in the American League.

''In college, I used to throw a lot of pitches and I think Scioscia has given me the reliability to go out there and throw more pitches than in the past,'' Weaver said. ''I've always been a guy who could throw some pitches and now I'm showing it.''

Notes: Weaver won his first road start since April 20 at Texas. ... In his last seven starts, Fister has not allowed more than four earned runs, but has just one victory during that stretch. ... Seattle announced the signing of 21 of its draft picks Tuesday, including seven taken in the first 20 rounds. The highest pick to sign was 10th-round selection IF Dan Paolini out of Siena.

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Follow Tim Booth on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/tjbooth7

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