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Saturday will mark just the 21st time in Major League history that brothers will face-off against each other as opposing starting pitchers.
32-year-old Jeff Weaver will start for Los Angeles in place of Eric Milton, who isn’t eligible to come off the DL until Sunday. Jeff’s Dodgers will face his little brother Jered and their cross-town counterparts, the Los Angeles Angels.
The Dodgers’ organization has actually seen brothers face each other twice before.
First, Jess Barnes, pitching for Brooklyn in 1912, faced brother Virgil, pitching for the Giants. More recently, Dodger Ramon Martinez squared off against brother Pedro, back when he was with the Expos in 1996.
While Jered has established himself as an anchor in the Angels rotation, the road for Jeff has been rough the past few seasons.
Jeff has not posted an ERA below 4.00 since ’02 with the Tigers, and the Mariners released him following a dismal season in ’07 that saw Jeff go 7-13 with a 6.20 ERA.
That season, Jeff constantly saw outings end in the first or second inning.
However, Jeff has shown much improvement under Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. Los Angeles should be encouraged by the production they have received thus far from Jeff.
Jeff, is his first year with the Blue Crew, will be making his fourth start of the season.
He is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA as a starter. In seven relief appearances, Weaver has been slightly less impressive (2-1, 4.50 ERA), but is getting the job done for the most part this season.
They also need to be weary of the fluctuation from his career numbers because he may begin to slide and revert back to his averages.
Despite being the elder Weaver brother and boasting seven more years of big-league experience, Jeff continues to need high quality outings to gain the trust of manager Joe Torre and be given more appearances as the year progresses.
Jered, on the other hand, is a young gem in the Angels organization. In just four seasons, he has a 42-21 record and a 3.44 ERA. This season, he has carried a decimated Angels pitching staff and is currently 7-2 with a 2.08 ERA.
Jered is a main reason why the Angels have been able to hang close with the Texas Rangers this season. The Angels are now within just one and a half games of the division lead.
The Northridge, Calif. natives are looking forward to the experience.
Jeff Weaver told MLB.com, "It's a chance to share the same mound on the same day and not many can say that. It's a moment we won't forget. It's pretty special regardless of the outcome."
Information from MLB.com was used for this article
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