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Jul 16, 2010 - 6:25 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Seattle (35-54) at Los Angeles (48-44), 10:05 p.m. EDT

A new rule prohibited Jered Weaver from pitching in the All-Star game. Felix Hernandez, meanwhile, would have been available to take the mound, and it would have been a well-deserved appearance.

Four days after being denied a chance to play in that game in front of his home crowd, Weaver looks to remain unbeaten versus the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium as he leads a Los Angeles Angels team that faces a daunting test against Hernandez on Friday night.

Weaver (8-5, 3.20 ERA) received his first All-Star nod, but was held out of the American League's 3-1 loss at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night. He was restricted by a rule that keeps anyone from pitching in the All-Star game after starting Sunday.

"I think there's something they can do to try to change it up a little bit so that this doesn't happen again," Weaver said.

Los Angeles (48-44) gave Weaver his normal five days' rest entering a matchup with Seattle (35-54). The right-hander is 5-0 with a 2.30 ERA in seven home starts against the Mariners.

But Weaver has been struggling, posting a 6.57 ERA en route to losing his last two outings. In his last start, Weaver surrendered five runs in six innings of a 5-2 loss to Oakland.

Weaver did strike out seven, giving him the major league lead in that category with 137.

Hernandez's 131 strikeouts put him third on that list. Despite an excellent first half, Hernandez (7-5, 2.88) failed to make his second straight All-Star game.

Hernandez has been particularly sharp in recent weeks, going 4-0 with a 1.39 ERA in his last six starts. He has tossed nine innings four times over his last five outings.

The right-hander is coming off his fourth complete game of the season, striking out nine in a 4-1 win over the Yankees on Saturday night.

But Hernandez's worst start of the season came against the Angels. He surrendered eight runs in 3 1-3 innings of an 8-0 defeat May 7.

Hernandez is 4-6 with a 4.40 ERA in 18 starts versus Los Angeles.

The Angels had little trouble against Mariners pitching in the opener of this four-game series, winning 8-3 on Thursday night. Los Angeles entered the break with eight losses in 10 games, scoring two runs or fewer in each of the defeats.

"Coming back from the All-Star game and scoring some runs helps this team a lot," right fielder Bobby Abreu said. "If we keep doing it this way, we're going to be in good shape."

Torii Hunter was the only Angels starter without a hit. Hunter has one hit in his last 15 at-bats, not including an 0-for-2 effort in the All-Star game.

Los Angeles shortstop Erick Aybar, meanwhile, is 8 for 18 (.444) over his last four contests, and is 12 for 22 (.545) over his last five games versus Seattle. Aybar was batting .238 on June 2, but has raised his average to .288.

Mariners All-Star Ichiro Suzuki extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a three-run double. Suzuki is hitting .474 (18 for 38) with eight RBIs in eight games against the Angels this season.

Suzuki continues to be one of the few offensive bright spots for Seattle, which is last in the AL in runs (298).