Major League Baseball

Angels 6, Orioles 3

Published Apr. 22, 2012 6:00 a.m. ET

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Jered Weaver has posted his first complete game of the season, and he's hoping that the Los Angeles Angels will go the distance as well.

Bobby Abreu highlighted a five-run fifth inning with a tiebreaking two-run single and the Angels gave their ace enough offensive support to beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 on Saturday night.

''It was just nice to get out there in the ninth and give the bullpen a little rest,'' Weaver said after his first complete game since a 5-1 win over Seattle on July 7. ''As a starter, our goal going into each and every game is to try to keep our team in the game and give us a chance to win.''

Weaver (3-0) allowed five hits, struck out five and walked none while going the distance for the ninth time in 181 career starts on 114 pitches. Since the beginning of the 2010 season, the All-Star right-hander is 12-0 with a 1.84 ERA in 15 starts before May 1. The last time he lost a game in April was his second start of 2009.

''He's one of the best,'' Orioles third baseman Mark Reynolds said. ''He locates very well and he's got that deceptive motion. He changes speeds and puts the ball where he wants to.''

Jake Arrieta (1-1) gave up five runs and six hits in 4 1-3 innings. The right-hander was coming off a no-decision at Toronto in which he tied a career high with 114 pitches over 6 2-3 innings.

Facing a lineup with five left-handers including the switch-hitting Wieters, Weaver retired his first 12 batters before Adam Jones had an infield hit to third base leading off the fifth. Weaver then got behind 3-0 on Wieters, who got the green light from manager Buck Showalter and drove his fifth homer deep into the right field seats for a 2-0 lead.

''I just wanted to make a good pitch, and I thought it was,'' Weaver said. ''I didn't think he'd be swinging there, 3-0. But sometimes they do, and it worked out for him. He's a power hitter. The ball might have been up a little, and he put it where he should have put it.''

Two of the Angels' first 14 batters reached second base, both on errant pickoff throws by Arrieta after leadoff singles by Erick Aybar in the first inning and Torii Hunter in the fifth. Hunter advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Mark Trumbo's opposite-field single, triggering a five-run rally.

Aybar tied it with a bases-loaded RBI single and Abreu followed with his two-run single to center, giving the Angels a 4-2 lead. Kendrys Morales chased Arrieta with a run-scoring single after a walk to Albert Pujols loaded the bases again.

''Everything snowballed on me in the fifth,'' Arietta said. ''I let a really great outing slip away.''

Arrieta's only other start against the Angels was on Aug. 5, 2010, when he allowed two earned runs over 7 2-3 innings before the Orioles won 5-4. That was the longest outing in Arrieta's 44 big league starts.

''Jake's one of the best pitchers we have and he has unbelievable stuff,'' Reynolds said. ''If he can just harness it and really learn how to pinpoint his stuff, he's going to be really good.

''I think he gets in trouble sometimes when he falls behind in the count and has to throw a fastball. And when it's not located very well, good hitters will make you pay,'' Reynolds said. ''His first couple of starts he was around the plate a lot and throwing his off-speed stuff for strikes. But tonight he fell behind hitters and had to throw fastballs on fastball counts.''

Pujols, stuck in the longest season-opening home run drought of his career, was 0 for 3. The three-time NL MVP is batting .262 with only four RBIs in 15 games and 61 at-bats.

Pujols has only three homers in his last 40 regular-season games and 166 at-bats overall. His longest home run drought ever was last season, when he came up empty in 27 straight games and 105 at-bats.

''I definitely feel what he's going through,'' said Reynolds, who is still looking for his first homer after averaging 37.7 in each of the previous three seasons. ''We're pretty good home run hitters, and to not have one that many at-bats in is pretty tough. But once you get that first one, you quit thinking about it and just keep hitting. So I think we're both going to be fine in that aspect.''

NOTES: The Orioles ended LHP Tsuyoshi Wada's rehab assignment and are sending him back to Baltimore to be examined by team doctors. He has been in the DL since March 28 with an impingement in his elbow, and no timetable has been set as to when he can resume throwing.

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