On Saturday night at Angel Stadium, for the first time since the epic Benes brothers matchup in 2002, a pair of brothers will matchup against each other in a major league baseball game. Jered and Jeff Weaver will be the eighth set of brothers to battle on opposite sides of the rubber with Phil and Joe Niekro leading the way with 20 career matchups.
This brotherly matchup is made more intriguing by the fact that the game features a cross-city interleague rivalry involving two of the strongest teams in baseball.
Jered and Jeff are, obviously, at different points in their career. The younger Jered (26) has continued to emerge as a craftsman on the mound, and appears well on his way to an all-star appearance in 2009. Jeff (32) is trying to find a consistant spot in the Dodgers' starting rotation and tonight will be only his fourth start of the season to go along with seven appearances out of the pen.
Jered's number thus far are terrific with a 7-2 record, an ERA of 2.08, and an Opponents Batting Average of only .258. Jeff, on the other hand, has a deceptive 4-1 record with and ERA of 3.72...it gets sketchy when you notice that his Opponents Batting Average is a brutal .357.
Everything about this matchup favors the Angels and younger brother Jered:
- The Angels have won four of the last five meetings.
- The Angels have won seven in a row overall, and five in a row at home.
- The Angels have won Jered's last five starts, and four of his last five starts vs. the Dodgers.
- Jeff's team (includes Seattle) has lost his last five starts vs. the Angels.
Despite the fact that all of the stats and trends are favoring Jered Weaver and the LA Angels tonight...I'm going with the value and picking the underdog Jeff Weaver and the LA Dodgers to pull the upset. Jeff is six years older, he used to bully his brother growing up, and he owes Jered and the Angels some payback for taking his job away in 2006. Older brother is pissed.
Tonight's pick with absolutely no stats to back it up...
LA Dodgers +155 (at SportsInteraction).