Angels hope to get Weaver on track against Yankees

Jered Weaver has not been particularly sharp of late. He game series against the New York Yankees at Angel Stadium.

Weaver picked up a win on Saturday against Minnesota, but it wasn't one of his better efforts, as he allowed six runs and eight hits with three walks in five innings. He had surrendered seven runs in a six-inning loss in his previous trip to the hill.

Over his last five outings Weaver has seen his earned run average jump from 1.78 to 2.49. He's also walked 12 batters and yielded seven home runs over that span after allowing just eight all year before Aug. 13.

"It's always a good idea to keep the ball in the park," said Weaver, who is 16-7 on the year.

Weaver defeated the Yankees earlier in the year and is 5-2 lifetime against them with a 5.40 ERA in eight starts. He's also beaten them all three times he has faced them at the Big A.

The Angels enter this series trailing the Texas Rangers by 2 1/2 games in the American League West. LA helped itself this past week by taking two of three from the hapless Seattle Mariners and has won four of its last five overall.

New York, meanwhile, limps out to the West Coast after losing back-to-back extra inning games to the woeful Baltimore Orioles. On Thursday at Camden Yards the Yanks blew a 4-1 lead in a 5-4, 10-inning loss.

"We didn't score after the third inning," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "That's what kind of hurt us today. They kept chipping away. I didn't think (Ivan) Nova was as sharp today."

The loss was only the third in the last 12 games for the Yankees, who still lead the American League East by 2 1/2 games over the Boston Red Sox.

Tonight, the Yanks turn to right-hander Bartolo Colon, who is 8-9 on the year and winless in his last six starts. Colon did not get a decision on Saturday against Toronto, as he allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 6-4 win, but saw his ERA rise to 3.72.

Colon, a Cy Young Award winner for the Angels in 2005, is 8-5 against his former team with a 3.93 ERA in 17 starts.

The Yankees have won four of their six meetings with the Angels this season and took two of three in Anaheim back in early June.