Tigers, Angels open three-game series at Comerica Park
Jered Weaver's best start since coming off the disabled list helped the Los Angeles Angels maintain their lead for the AL's second wild card last week.
The starting pitching hasn't been the same since, and the Angels' edge in the playoff race has vanished.
Los Angeles sends Weaver to the hill looking to snap a four-game skid by winning an eighth straight meeting with the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night (6 p.m. pregame, 7:08 first pitch on FOX Sports Detroit) at Comerica Park.
Weaver (5-9, 4.34 ERA) has gone 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in three starts since returning from left hip inflammation that kept him out over a month and a half. He pitched well again Wednesday, allowing five hits over 6 1-3 innings of a 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox for his first win since beating Detroit 8-6 on May 30.
"I still feel like I can gain some strength back and get the velocity up, but even if I stay where I'm at, I'm totally comfortable out there," Weaver said. "I'm throwing the ball the way I want to, which is nice."
The right-hander's previous four starts against the Tigers came at Comerica, and he went 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA. However, Weaver has lost his last four road starts with a 6.12 ERA and has allowed at least four runs in six of his 10 outings away from home this year.
That doesn't bode well for the Angels (63-61), who have averaged 2.6 runs while dropping 12 of 13 on the road. They weren't very good at the end of their seven-game homestand, either, getting outscored 44-12 while dropping the last four following Weaver's solid outing.
Starters posted a 12.67 ERA in that stretch, and Toronto finished with 48 hits during a three-game sweep over the weekend as the Angels fell out of the second wild-card spot.
Los Angeles is tied with Minnesota, 1 1/2 games behind Texas for the AL's last playoff position and sits 3 1/2 back of AL West-leading Houston.
"There's still a lot of confidence in that room," manager Mike Scioscia said after holding a closed-door meeting following Sunday's 12-5 loss. "All it's going to take is one good game playing like the way we can and moving forward from there."
Mike Trout went 3 for 4 with an RBI triple Sunday after batting .176 with 25 strikeouts over his first 22 games this month. He's 3 for 4 with two doubles lifetime against Alfredo Simon, who is coming off the best start of his career.
ASimon (11-7, 4.52) tossed his first complete game and allowed his only hit with two outs in the fifth inning of a 1-0 win over Texas on Thursday. The right-hander had a 2.58 ERA through his first 12 starts, then went 3-4 with an 8.19 ERA over his next 10 before blanking the Rangers.
"It's been tough the last couple games," Simon said. "I just want to get back to the point I was early in the year."
Simon didn't pitch during a four-game series with the Angels from May 28-31 and hasn't faced them since 2011. Los Angeles swept that May series in Anaheim and has won 17 of the last 20 meetings.
Detroit (59-65) also enters this contest looking to snap a four-game skid after falling 12-5 to Cincinnati on Monday. The Tigers took the lead on first-inning homers from J.D. Martinez and Nick Castellanos, but the Reds answered with a 10-run sixth.
Miguel Cabrera had two hits and is batting .528 with a homer and eight doubles during a nine-game hitting streak. Ian Kinsler had his major league-best 49th multihit game and is batting .484 during a season-high seven-game run.
Received 08/25/15 12:10 am ET
