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Hunter, Aybar provide the offense for Angels

Apr 28, 2008 - 4:46 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- Erick Aybar and Torii Hunter each drove in three runs to lead the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to a 6-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Hunter put the Angels in front 1-0 with an RBI triple in the fourth and added a two-run double in the sixth that extended the lead to 4-0. Aybar had a sacrifice fly in the fifth and capped the Angels' four-run sixth with a two-run single to left.

Jered Weaver (2-3) allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings to pick up the win.

"I think he, after he settled in in the second, after he went walk-walk, then he started making some pitches," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "That's a tough lineup. You can't really underestimate how tough it is to get through it."

Weaver issued four walks and struck out five in picking up his first win since April 5.

"It feels good. The way it has felt all year," Weaver said. "Just a matter of keeping people off balance. I came in a little bit more."

Justin Verlander (1-4) took the loss for the Tigers, yielding six runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Despite the setback, Verlander was upbeat.

"I threw better tonight than I have all year long," he said. "I felt really good and my velocity was up. The result was not want I wanted them to be, but I can build on what I did tonight.

"Send me out every time with what I had tonight and the results will be a lot different."

The Angels have won 10 of their last 14 and are tied with the Oakland Athletics at the top of the American League West. Both the Angels and A's have an AL-high 16 wins and start a series against each other on Monday.

Detroit had started to turn things around after a 2-10 start, winning nine of its last 13 entering Sunday. The Tigers were hoping Verlander could continue to turn things around as well, but Sunday saw a return of his early-season struggles.

"We are playing better baseball. We just have to start winning more games," Detroit catcher Ivan Rodriguez said. "Now we have to go to New York and do what we have to do. We have to play our game, better pitching, better offense and better defense. If we do everything the right way, we will all right."

Verlander was coming off of his first win of the season, but was unable to back it up. He walked four with only three strikeouts and has allowed four or more runs in all but one of his six starts.

"He threw very well tonight," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "His stuff was good and he had control of all his pitches. In the fourth, his control just got away from him. It's a shame because he pitched a good game. I think he's coming around. He's just going to be fine."