Tangling with sluggers was Weaver's downfall

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Jered Weaver was done for the day after his 95th pitch, a ball low and away that allowed David Ortiz to reach on a leadoff walk in the top of the sixth inning and prompted Angels manager Mike Scioscia to emerge from the dugout with the hook.

But, truth be told, Weaver's day was done well before he issued that free pass.

Weaver's first career start in the playoffs, opposite Curt Schilling, unraveled in the fourth when he surrendered back-to-back solo homers to Ortiz and fellow bash brother Manny Ramírez, which served as the crowning blows of the Red Sox' 9-1 victory yesterday in this three-game sweep in the American League Division Series.

Although he vowed to remember the grand slam Ortiz hit off him - and Ortiz's slow trot around the bases - in a 10-5 loss at Fenway Park Aug. 18, Weaver never sought to get personal with the Sox DH.

"The game plan was not to throw him any fastballs in," Weaver said. "Being in the rhythm of the game, naturally, I throw a fastball and I wasn't sure he could do anything with it, and he hit the fastball out. What are you going to do?"

Of the six times Ortiz has faced Weaver in his career, he has thrice gone yard against the 25-year-old righthander.

As for Ramírez? "Just hung a curveball," said Weaver.

Weaver did get out of a jam in the second inning after Mike Lowell doubled to move Ramírez (walk) to third. Weaver induced J.D. Drew to ground out to the mound and struck out Jason Varitek and Coco Crisp.

"I thought Weaver did a terrific job pitching in the second and third with a nobody-out situation early," Scioscia said. "Early on the game was tight either way. It was probably hinging on one hit one way or the other.

"The eighth inning they broke it open [with seven runs on five hits] and [we] didn't really make much of a game of it."

Visibly shorthanded

Rookie Reggie Willits, who started Game 1 in center field then sat out Game 2 when Vladimir Guerrero returned to right field, was pressed into action in the third inning yesterday as a replacement for left fielder and cleanup hitter Garret Anderson, who continued to be plagued by conjunctivitis in his right eye. "Garret did not see the ball in the outfield today," Scioscia said. "I think his eye obviously got very sensitive looking up into the sun. And it was really going to be tough for him to pick the ball up off the bat and at the plate." . . . As if it wasn't already enough of a difficult proposition to juggle the healthy bodies in his lineup, Scioscia showed up at the ballpark yesterday and learned he'd be without first baseman Casey Kotchman, which prompted the deployment of rookie Kendry Morales. "He has a non-baseball-related medical condition so he's not available today," Scioscia said prior to the game . . . The Angels, who developed a reputation as a run-manufacturing machine, went 3 for 17 with runners in scoring position for the series. "Well, [the Sox] pitched well," Scioscia offered. "They pitched well all season to get here. Their bullpen took kind of some different routes during the season, but they did a great job in this series and did a great job all season. Their pitching probably doesn't get as much notice as some of the guys on the offensive side of that team. That's the heartbeat of that club, and they pitched well this series." Toughest to swallow for Scioscia: "Losing, there's no way to take losing; to me a loss is a loss. Nothing is worse than a loss. Bottom line that's how I look at it."