Major League Baseball
LA Angels 1, Chi. White Sox 0
When: 10:05 PM ET, Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Where: Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California
Temperature: 75°
Umpires: Home - Dana DeMuth, 1B - Mike Estabrook, 2B - Ed Hickox, 3B - Paul Nauert
Attendance: 35036

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jered Weaver described the Los Angeles Angels' latest victory succinctly: "It's one of those things where one error can beat you, one bad pitch can hurt you."

Catcher Carlos Perez hit a home run in the sixth inning, and the Angels earned a 1-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night in front of 35,036 at Angel Stadium.

Weaver (5-9) pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings to earn his first victory since May 30. The right-hander scattered five hits, permitted no walks, collected five strikeouts, induced seven groundouts and retired 18 of the final 21 batters he faced.

"When Weaver locates, he gets outs and goes deep into games," Angel reliever Joe Smith said. "Everybody talks about velocity. Everybody loves it. But if he locates his stuff, he makes guys look pretty foolish. He's freezing guys on mid-80s fastballs inside."

In his three starts since being activated from the disabled list Aug. 9, Weaver has yielded only four earned runs, 13 hits and two walks in 17 1/3 innings while amassing 15 strikeouts.

"I still feel like I can gain some strength back and get the velo up," Weaver said about his velocity. "But even if I stay where I'm at, I'm totally comfortable out there. I can throw the ball the way I want to, which is nice."

Right-handed relievers Trevor Gott and Smith contributed to the shutout, with Smith pitching the ninth for his second save.

The Angels, who recorded their third successive victory, remain 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros in the American League West and a half-game in front of the Baltimore Orioles in the race for the second AL wild-card playoff berth.

The White Sox lost for the fourth time in five games.

Perez put the Angels ahead when he propelled a 95 mph fastball from right-hander Jeff Samardzija over the glove of left fielder Melky Cabrera and into Chicago's bullpen. The home run was Perez's third of the season and his first since May 30.

"I fall behind 2-0 and leave one out over the plate, and it gets taken advantage of," Samardzija said. "That one will be in your head for a while."

Samardzija (8-9) took his fourth consecutive loss. He had seven strikeouts in seven innings and conceded just one run on eight hits and two walks. Samardzija threw 116 pitches.

"Jeff pitched a great game," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He battled out of some jams, was throwing strikes and was getting ahead. For him, it's a good game. We just didn't score."

The White Sox placed the potential tying run in scoring position in the top of the ninth against Smith. Cabrera began the inning by lining a single to right field, then took second base on designated hitter Avisail Garcia's groundout before being replaced by pinch runner Trayce Thompson. Right fielder J.B. Shuck walked, bringing pinch hitter Adam LaRoche to the plate.

LaRoche hit a ground ball to Angels first baseman C.J. Cron, who threw to shortstop Erick Aybar to retire Shuck at second base. First base umpire Mike Estabrook ruled LaRoche safe on Aybar's return throw to Smith at first base. However, Angels manager Mike Scioscia appealed Estabrook's call, which video replay overturned to end the game.

NOTES: Los Angeles 1B Albert Pujols, who hit three home runs in his previous four games, did not play, as manager Mike Scioscia gave him a rest. Before the recent power surge, Pujols hit no homers in 14 games and only one in 22. ... The Angels will recall RHP Nick Tropeano from Triple-A Salt Lake to start Thursday against the White Sox. In two starts for Los Angeles earlier this season, one in April and one in July, Tropeano went 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA. LHP Jose Quintana (6-10, 3.62 ERA) will start for Chicago in the series finale. ... White Sox LHP Chris Sale, who has 208 strikeouts, is on pace for a club-record 288. Hall of Famer Ed Walsh set the mark with 269 in 1908. ... The White Sox and Angels share second place in the American League with 69 quality starts.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Chi. White Sox   LA Angels
Jeff Samardzija Player Jered Weaver
Loss W/L Win
7.0 IP 6.1
7 Strikeouts 5
8 Hits 5
1.29 ERA 0.00
Hitting
Chi. White Sox   LA Angels
Carlos Sanchez Player Carlos Perez
2 Hits 2
0 RBI 1
0 HR 1
3 TB 5
.667 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Chi. White Sox 7 0 8 .226 13 6 0 1 1 0
LA Angels 8 1 12 .250 22 7 1 2 2 0