While most of the attention in Southern California was placed firmly on the Lakers this past weekend, the Angels quietly swept the San Diego Padres 6-0 on Sunday behind the arm of Jered Weaver and bat of Juan Rivera.

With John Lackey and Ervin Santana struggling to rebound from injuries, Sunday’s starter Jered Weaver looked like a legitimate ace, as he pitched a complete game shutout, striking out five and allowing just five hits. The San Diego hitters were hapless against Weaver.

But the Angels were able to play a complete game in large part due to a solid offensive performance. Juan Rivera led the charge, going 2-for-4 with 2 solo home runs. Collectively, the offense recorded seven hits, and showed some patience at the plate with five walks.

Here are some additional thoughts:

• The Angels took advantage of San Diego’s starter Chris Young. Historically, the Halos have allowed erratic pitchers to stay in the game by hacking away and not being patient at the plate. However, Sunday was a different story. The offense waited for Young to make his mistakes, putting runners on base that eventually scored.
• Chone Figgins is really warming up. Over the past 30 games, Figgins has been batting just over .400 and has now raised his average to .326 this year. His OBP may not be sky high, especially for a leadoff hitter, but his BA places him second among A.L. leadoff batters.
• Who needs a bullpen. On a day when the Angels learned that setup man Scot Shields would be out for the year, they got a complete game from their starter. If Lackey and Santana can revert to their 2008 forms than the team will have at least four pitchers, who are capable of pitching at least seven innings on any given day.

Related posts

• An obligatory 2009 Los Angeles Angels Preview (1)
• 2009 Spring Training Preview: Angels (0)
• Post-Game Report: Angels v. Twins (8/24/08) (0)
• Post-Game Report: Angels v. Orioles (7/27/08) (0)
• Post-Game Recap: Angels v. Mariners (9/22/08) (0)