video thumbnail

TEX@LAA: Weaver works seven strong to earn 12th win

There's no place like home for Jered Weaver.

The Angels' ace enters his Wednesday start against the Royals having put together a dominant season, particularly in games played at Angel Stadium. Weaver comes in with a 0.67 ERA in eight home starts, yielding an incredible four earned runs in 53 2/3 innings.

The runner up for the 2011 American League Cy Young Award continued his marvelous campaign against the Rangers on Friday, allowing one run on six hits over seven innings. He carries a 12-1 overall record into Wednesday's series finale, and another win would tie him with three others for the Major League lead -- but that's not what he's focused on.

"Any win's a good win," Weaver said. "It doesn't matter what the record is. I'm just trying to go out there and win some ballgames and have some good offense on my side."

His Kansas City counterpart, Luke Hochevar, doesn't boast the same sparkling statistics. But the Royals will be satisfied if Hochevar turns in a performance similar to his last one.

A solo homer was the only run surrendered by the right-hander in seven innings against the Twins on Friday. Hochevar allowed five hits while recording his eighth career outing spanning seven-plus innings without a walk.

"I'm just real encouraged with the way that he threw the ball tonight," manager Ned Yost said of Hochevar's performance. "He mixed in his curveball extremely well. It was a very good pitch for him. He got some big outs with a couple of sliders, located his fastball really well. I'm just real encouraged he could go seven innings as well as he pitched."

Royals: Kendall retires
• Jason Kendall, 38, announced his retirement on Tuesday. He played just two games for Double-A Northwest Arkansas after signing a Minor League contract with the Royals to try to see if his surgically repaired right shoulder would hold up well enough for him to continue playing.

"I had a good run," Kendall said from Springdale, Ark. "I went out on my own terms and did what I had to do. I have no regrets."

• The Royals reported on Tuesday that closer Joakim Soria is on schedule as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Soria continues to go through rehabilitation work in Surprise, Ariz., after undergoing the elbow ligament construction on April 3.

Angels: Segura debuts
• Jean Segura -- the Angels' No. 1 ranked prospect by MLB.com -- went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his Major League debut on Tuesday. He hit eighth and started at shortstop in place of the injured Erick Aybar.

"He's ready to be up here and play defense," manager Mike Scioscia said of Segura, who hit .294 in 94 games for Double-A Arkansas. "But as far as being a finished product, he's not. Is he ready for a challenge of coming in here and being on the depth chart in the Major Leagues? He is."

• Howard Kendrick is batting .295 over the last two months after posting a .257 average in the first two months of the season. Kendrick said he hasn't made any physical adjustments, instead relying on slight psychological changes.

"No guy really wants to struggle at any point, but I know it's going to happen in this game," he said. "And I think the biggest thing is just trying to work through it and come out of it. I think just trying to stay on a steady pace."

Worth noting
• Mike Trout's franchise and rookie record streak of games with a run scored was snapped at 15 on Tuesday.

• The Royals own a 142-133 all-time edge over the Angels in games played in Anaheim.

MLB.com Comments