• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Angels-Athletics Preview

Jul 11, 2010 - 6:12 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Los Angeles (47-43) at Oakland (42-46), 4:05 p.m. EDT

Trevor Cahill earned his first All-Star nod, and it might have come at the expense of Jered Weaver's first. Both pitchers, however, would be ineligible to play in the All-Star game.

Cahill and Weaver are both looking to rebound from losses when the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels conclude a three-game set Sunday.

Cahill (8-3, 3.17 ERA) was named to Tuesday's All-Star game at Angel Stadium, thanks in part to a nine-start stretch that saw the 22-year-old right-hander go 7-0 with a 2.12 ERA.

His inclusion as the only member of the A's (42-46), however, may have led to a second consecutive year where Weaver (8-4, 2.97) was left off the AL roster.

Weaver, among baseball's leaders with 130 strikeouts, was reportedly being considered as an All-Star replacement for the Yankees' CC Sabathia, but any pitcher scheduled to start Sunday is ineligible to participate.

"Weav deserves to be there," the Angels' lone All-Star Torii Hunter told the team's official website. "Your first All-Star Game is awesome. This being in his home park, he should be here."

Weaver and Los Angeles (47-43) may be more concerned with heading into the break with some momentum after losing 15-1 at Oakland to split the first two games of this series.

The Angels are second in the West, 4 1/2 games back of Texas.

Weaver will try to rebound from a rough performance after he allowed four runs and seven hits over 6 1-3 innings Tuesday in a 4-1 road loss to the Chicago White Sox.

"I'm not going to lie; I was a little gassed out there," said Weaver, who threw 111 pitches. "I got a little tired, but no excuses. You've got to make your pitches."

He didn't fare well in his last start at Oakland on June 8, giving up six runs and 12 hits in six innings of a 10-1 defeat.

Cahill saw his winning streak come to an end Tuesday as he surrendered six runs in six innings of a 6-1 loss to the Yankees. He admitted being distracted after Yankees manager Joe Girardi named him to his first All-Star game two days earlier.

"I think I was a little too amped up. I wanted to prove I belonged on the team, and the first inning, I was throwing a bit harder than normal," Cahill told the team's official website. "I think it just fatigued me toward the end of the game."

Cahill is 4-1 with a 2.52 ERA in six home starts. Included in that stretch was a stellar outing in a 6-1 victory over the Angels on June 10, when he allowed one run and six hits in eight innings.

He's 2-1 with a 2.56 ERA in five meetings with the division rivals.

Cahill surely wouldn't mind continued success from his lineup, which scored a season-high 15 runs Saturday, collecting 16 hits with three homers. The A's managed only 19 runs over their previous seven games, losing five.

Rajai Davis keyed Saturday's outburst, breaking out of a 2-for-31 slump with four hits, including a grand slam, and a career-high five RBIs.

The center fielder owns a .429 average with five doubles, a triple, a homer and six RBIs in five home meetings with the Angels.