On a day that saw Major League Baseball take over the Los Angeles National League franchise, the oldest baseball team actually born in Los Angeles took over sole possession of first place in their division.
Jered Weaver tossed a complete game in Arlington, striking out 8 Rangers and allowing only one cheap run. He had some great defense behind him as CF Peter Bourjos made highlight reel grabs of fly balls that put him squarely in the legion of Gary Pettis, Devon White, Darin Erstad, Torii Hunter and Jim Edmonds as the greatest Centerfielders in franchise history. In a season that sees the Halos celebrating their first fifty seasons, a few Angels are barging in on the Memory Lane party and creating some history right now.
Weaver went to 5-0 on the 2011 season with Wednesday night's 119-pitch gem. Statistically speaking, Wins don't mean anything, of course. Except when the standings are involved. It may only be April, but the pitching and defense of the Angels are shaping up as patient arbiters of waiting for Vernon Wells to hit his next homerun. The Rangers, meanwhile, looked like the classic unbalanced team that struggles when its one strong spoke snaps. Josh Hamilton is at least five and a half weeks away from returning to the big club, which just got a little smaller tonight.