Pirate Galaxy » rner.He understood kind of where he stood, where he needs

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Pitching in a tight game helped Jered Weaver concentrate even more than he usually does. Weaver outdueled Mike Pelfrey with eight innings of two-hit ball after Albert Pujols drove in a first-inning run, and the Los Angeles Angels beat Minnesota 1-0 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep by the Twins. "With the score 1-0, you try to focus a little more on executing pitches because you know that one bad pitch can hurt you -- especially in a day game with the wind blowing out," Weaver said. "You have to be a little more focused in on what you have to do. Obviously, youre going to pitch a little differently in a 1-0 game than you are in a 4-0 game." Weaver (5-5) struck out nine and walked one in his first home start against the Twins since his no-hitter on May 2, 2012. The three-time All-Star retired 19 consecutive batters during one stretch -- just four days after teammate C.J. Wilson set down 18 in a row against Oakland. "After losing the first two games to those guys, I wanted to come out and try to limit runs," Weaver said. "The game plan going into every game is to try to keep them off-balance. My fastball command was good, I was able to mix in the changeup later, and the defence took care of the rest. Pelfrey threw a great game, and one run was the difference." Weaver improved to 8-2 lifetime against the Twins with a 3.28 ERA. Doug Bernier, a 33-year-old rookie who got his first major league hit and RBI on Monday, singled on an 0-2 pitch with one out in the first. The Twins didnt get another runner until Ryan Doumit walked on four pitches with two out in the seventh, and rookie Aaron Hicks singled with two out in the eighth. "He was the No. 1 they needed him to be," Minnesotas Justin Morneau said. "We came in here winning the first two, and he beat us. We got his pitch count up a little bit early, but he settled in like most of the number ones do. He changed speeds really well and got ahead in the count. And when he works ahead, he makes that off-speed stuff more effective." Ernesto Frieri got three outs for his 25th save in 27 chances, less than 24 hours after giving up five runs including a grand slam by Chris Herrmann in the 10th inning of the Angels 10-3 loss. The right-hander ended it by striking out Herrmann with runners at the corners. "Thats why I like to be a reliever. I dont like to wait like five days to pitch," Frieri said. "I want to pitch every day. I like to get the chance the next day. If I didnt do good today, I just want my (manager) to give me another chance to prove myself." Frieri walked his first batter, then hit Bernier with an 0-2 pitch before Morneau came up and hit a not-too-high popup between the mound and first base. Frieri let it drop and started a double play by throwing to first base. Bernier ended up in a rundown and was tagged out by first baseman Mark Trumbo as Clete Thomas advanced to third. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire came out and complained to plate umpire Mike Muchlinski that is should have been ruled an infield fly. "You never expect that popup, but youve got to be ready for anything," Frieri said. "When I saw the ball coming, I heard (shortstop Erick) Aybar screaming: Drop it! Drop it! My reaction was to go to first base. Aybar and (Alberto) Callaspo were like: Next time, youve got to go to third." Angels right fielder Josh Hamilton missed his third straight game because of right ankle stiffness. Pelfrey (4-8) pitched six innings and allowed five hits, including Pujols run-scoring single in the first. "He really deserved to win that game today, but we didnt score any runs for him," Morneau said. "These last few starts hes really been throwing the ball well after coming off the DL. Today he had a little more velocity. I think that maybe that little bit of rest was what he needed. Its something he can build on and get some confidence out of that." The right-hander is 1-5 with a 4.64 ERA in his last 12 starts. His only victory during that stretch was July 6, when he pitched six innings of 3-hit ball in a 6-0 win at Toronto. "Those first two months were brutal months," Pelfrey said. "But I feel like Im back to what I used to be. So its exciting for me. And hopefully Ill continue to get better. My fastball was really good today. The velocity was there and the movement was there. I was locating on both sides of the plate. If you go in to righties, then it opens it up to go away." NOTES: With C Joe Mauer back in Minnesota spending quality time with wife Maddie and newborn twin daughters Emily and Maren, the Twins recalled Drew Butera from Triple-A Rochester after placing Mauer on the paternity list. Butera, who spent the previous three years as Mauers backup, had 79 at-bats with the Red Wings after recovering from a broken left hand. ... Former Minnesota SS and current TV analyst Roy Smalley recalled Wednesday that when he played for the club, owner Calvin Griffith offered a $10,000 bonus to any Twins player whose wife gave birth to twins. Smalleys twin daughters Catherine and Laura-Leigh were born in 1984, just before he began his third spring training with the Yankees. ... Weaver is 3-1 with a 1.33 ERA in his last four starts, lowering his overall ERA to 2.98. ... Angels CF Mike Trout was 0 for 4, ending his career-best hitting streak at 15 games. ... The Angels signed 38 of their 39 draft picks this year, the best percentage in the franchises 53-year history. The only exception was RHP Blake Goins, a 12th-round selection who decided to attend the University of Texas. Hydro Flask Kinder . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Swell Flasche Blau . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. http://www.swellflascheschweiz.ch/ . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Swell Flasche Blumen . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. Swell Trinkflasche .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens took a calculated gamble by cutting Justin Forsett and bringing him back two days later.When the Ravens reached the mandatory 53-man limit by releasing the former Pro Bowl running back on Saturday, Forsett could have signed with any team as a free agent.Instead, the 30-year-old laid low. When Baltimore re-signed him on Monday, the controversial move to cut him ended up being a win-win situation for the Ravens and Forsett.No guts, no glory, coach John Harbaugh declared Tuesday. You cant achieve anything unless youre willing to take some risk. But certainly, you take calculated, smart risks. Thats what we did there.The Ravens struck a deal with Forsett, promising to pay him his $3 million salary for 2016 if he would allow himself to spend a couple of days off the roster.By dropping Forsett and waiting an extra day to sign free agent kick returner Devin Hester, Baltimore was able to place safety Matt Elam and defensive Carl Davis on injured reserve Monday.Either Elam or Davis can be given the designated to return label in the weeks ahead. Any player placed on IR before the final 53-man cut cannot receive the return designation.Hopefully it helps us in the end, Harbaugh said. I mean, it was a small thing, but its not a small thing for those two guys who have a chance to come back on the roster. Its a big thing for those two guys and for our team. I just see it as a plus all the way around and well executed move.Forsett provided foreshadow to the Ravens about-face with this tweet Saturday: the plot thickens.I thought Justin handled it exceptionally well, Harbaugh said. It was a team move on his part and didnt hurt him in any way financially or otherwise. We knew what the plan was all along.The Ravens reached agreement with Hester on Sunday but didnt make the deal official on Monday.dddddddddddd Turns out, the two sides had been in contact long before the holiday weekend.Hester missed the first 11 weeks of the 2015 season while recovering from toe surgery and did not participate in any organized team activities with Atlanta before being released by the Falcons in late July. Not long after that, he heard from the Ravens, who desperately needed a sure-handed kick returner.They were one of the teams that reached out right away, Hester said Tuesday.The Ravens signed him to a one-year deal after being convinced he was fully healthy and ready to go. Hester practiced Tuesday and is expected to be in uniform for Sundays opener against the Buffalo Bills.Seems like hes actually in very good shape and ready to play, Harbaugh said. Im not worried about him being able to handle the job at all.For the first time since Saturdays cuts, Harbaugh addressed the release of former Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who was signed to the practice squad on Monday. Reynolds was a star at Navy but is trying to make in the NFL as a receiver and kick returner.He understood kind of where he stood, where he needs to go and what th