Weaver Is Seven Up on Ledger

KANSAS CITY, Mo. â€”  This can no longer be classified as an impressive run by a dominating rookie pitcher.

It’s borderline historic what Jered Weaver has done, winning a seventh consecutive start to open his career with a 6 2/3 -inning, one-run, three-hit effort Sunday to lead the Angels to a 3-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. He’s stirring 25-year-old memories of a certain Dodgers left-hander who captivated Southern California baseball fans and galvanized the Hispanic community.

What Weaver lacks in mania he is making up for in Fernando, becoming the first pitcher to win the first seven starts of his career since Valenzuela won his first eight in 1981.

Unlike Valenzuela, Weaver did not open his rookie season in the big leagues, and Weaver’s run was interrupted by a two-week demotion to the minor leagues in late June, but that doesn’t diminish his accomplishments.

Weaver, who helped the Angels pull to within one game of first-place Oakland in the American League West, has been so good that despite Sunday’s sterling start in Kauffman Stadium, his earned-run average actually went up, from 1.12 to 1.15.

“There are a lot of similar dynamics,� Angels Manager Mike Scioscia, a Dodgers catcher in 1981, said when comparing the impact of Weaver and Valenzuela on their teams. The Dodgers “had a big veteran presence on that club with high expectations and a lot of kids trying to break through, just like we do now.

“We knew how good Fernando was -- he was our opening-day starter that year. He was expected to win, and he kept doing his thing. Jered is doing the same thing now. On the field, in the clubhouse, a lot of things are similar.�

Except the hype. With such a strong AL rookie class, which includes Boston’s Jonathan Papelbon, Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano and Detroit’s Justin Verlander, Weaver isn’t even being mentioned as a rookie-of-the-year candidate.

And though Weaver has developed solid fan backing in Anaheim, it’s nothing compared to the Fernandomania that swept across the Southland in 1981, a year the Dodgers won the World Series. Which is fine with Weaver.

“All I care about is getting wins -- I’m not worried about any records,� Weaver said. “I’ve always been good about not getting hyped up about all that stuff. I worry about making pitches, giving the team a chance to win.�

If Weaver’s stature is rising in baseball circles -- and it is, if you tune into the highlight shows and listen to the buzz around the game -- the 23-year-old seems oblivious to it all.

“It still hasn’t kicked in,� said Weaver, who received a $4-million signing bonus after being drafted in the first round from Long Beach State in 2004. “I feel like I’m throwing in college. I’m just making pitches. There’s just one more tier in the bleachers.�

There was some speculation that once teams got a second look at Weaver, they would have more success against him. They would adjust to his corkscrew delivery, across-the-body motion and 10 o’clock release point and would get better swings, forcing Weaver to make adjustments to counteract the hitters.

But the Royals, the first team Weaver has faced twice, did no such thing. Weaver, scratched from his last start because of a mild case of biceps tendinitis, looked a little rusty in his first start since July 8, walking four batters and hitting one.

He had trouble locating his slider early but made up for that with command of his fastball, giving up only one infield single through five innings before giving up Mark Teahen’s run-scoring double in the sixth.

Adam Kennedy’s run-scoring single in the second inning and Robb Quinlan’s two-run single in the fourth had staked Weaver to a 3-0 lead by that point. J.C. Romero, Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings, with Rodriguez striking out two of three in the ninth for his 25th save.

“What I was impressed with today was the way he pitched around the fact that he didn’t have command of his breaking ball,� Scioscia said of Weaver.