Managers almost always come out to the mound to remove pitchers from the game, so when the pitching coach makes a mound visits it’s usually just to chat. And that was Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher’s plan Sunday when he came out to talk to Jered Weaver, but then Weaver surprised everyone involved by actually asking to be removed from the game in the seventh inning.
He’d thrown 6.1 innings of one-run ball on 102 pitches and the Angels were up 7-1, but Weaver wasn’t happy with how he was pitching and specifically told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times that he “didn’t have any command of my fastball.”
And because he’s Jered Weaver, longtime excellent pitcher with a good reputation for such things, Butcher had plenty of praise for him, saying: “It takes a man to tell you he wants to come out of the game. Hats off to him.”
Weaver’s catcher, Hank Conger, said: “I was a little shocked. He always loves taking the ball.”
And the reliever who came in to replace him, Michael Kohn, said: “I was surprised. I was warming up, taking my time, and they said, ‘You’re in the game.’”
Sunday’s start may have been a batter or two shorter than manager Mike Scioscia planned, but it was Weaver’s fifth straight strong outing since beginning the season with three straight rough games. During that five-start stretch he’s 4-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 23/8 K/BB ratio in 32 innings and has allowed just one homer.