TIM BOOTH
AP Sports Writer
SEATTLE (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels’ main goal for the final weekend of the regular season was accomplished before Jered Weaver got knocked around by the Seattle Mariners.
The Angels will have home-field advantage for however long they are in the postseason.
“We play good at home in front of our fans,” Angels outfielder Mike Trout said. “It is what we were playing for and we got it.”
Weaver gave up three homers as the Mariners kept their playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 win over the Angels on Friday night.
Before Weaver took the mound, the Angels got a boost when Baltimore lost to Toronto. Los Angeles is assured of playing the wild-card winner in the AL division series and will have home-field advantage in the ALCS and World Series should it advance.
“It’s a good position to be in,” Weaver said. “We’ll sit back and wait and see who we got. It’s going to be fun.”
Weaver (18-9) made his first start since being slowed by the flu and pitched six innings. Manager Mike Scioscia was hoping to get him enough work to be ready for the postseason, but Weaver allowed three or more homers for the eighth time in his career. Weaver set a new career high with 27 home runs allowed this season.
Kendrys Morales and Michael Saunders gave Hisashi Iwakuma (15-9) an early lead. Morales hit a leadoff homer in the second and Logan Morrison followed with a base hit to center before Saunders connected for his eighth homer.
Ackley led off the fifth with a drive to the right-field seats.
“I made some mistakes. Sometimes you get away with them and sometimes they hit homers. At least that’s what happened tonight,” Weaver said.
The Angels didn’t get to Iwakuma until Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout hit back-to-back homers in the sixth. It was the sixth time this season the Angels have hit back-to-back homers.
The Angels tried to rally in the ninth. Erick Aybar’s RBI double off Fernando Rodney cut the lead to 4-3, but the closer retired David Freese and Brennan Boesch to complete his 48th save.
Seattle remained two games back of Oakland for the second AL wild card. Seattle must win its final two and have Oakland lose its final two to force a one-game playoff on Monday in Seattle.
“I like where we are,” Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. “I wish we were a little closer but we’ll see what happens.”
TROUT’S TIME
Trout’s homer tied him with Frank Robinson for the fifth-most homers in baseball history before age 23 with 98.
Trout added a leaping catch of Morales’ line drive in the eighth. Running to his left, Trout slightly overran the liner and reached behind his head as he jumped to make the catch.
“I put the glove where I thought the ball was going to be,” Trout said. “You tell yourself to try to catch everything. I tried to give myself a chance and I caught it.”
Added Scioscia, “It looked like a video game.”
IWAKUMA’S MARKS
Iwakuma set a career high with his 15th win despite missing the first month of the season. He also became the fifth Japanese-born pitcher to win 15 games in a season.
Iwakuma staggered through his past six starts, giving up at least three earned runs in each one and failing to pitch beyond the fifth four times. He rediscovered his form from earlier in the season, shutting out the Angels for the first five innings.
Iwakuma left in the middle of an at-bat in the seventh after feeling discomfort in his side. It was precautionary and Iwakuma said he was fine.
TRAINER’S ROOM:
Angels: OF Josh Hamilton is not expected to play in the final series of the regular season. The Angels were hopeful he could make it back before the start of the postseason but he’s not expected to swing a bat until Saturday. … RHP Matt Shoemaker (oblique) played catch at 150 feet on Friday and could be throwing off a mound next week.
UP NEXT:
Angels: LHP C.J. Wilson (13-10) makes his final start of the regular season and possibly final pitch to be in the rotation for the ALDS. Wilson didn’t make it out of the first inning in his last start against Oakland.
Mariners: LHP James Paxton (6-4) struggled last time out in Toronto. He gave up eight earned runs and walked six batters.
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