Erick Aybar

One of the hottest hitters lately in the Angels' potent offense is Erick Aybar . The 25-year-old shortstop began today's game against the Texas Rangers having hit .396 over his prior 25 games, with 20 runs batted in and 13 multi-hit games. And Aybar capped that hitting spree with a solo home run Saturday, his fifth of the season, that gave the Angels a 3-2 win over Texas and enabled Jered Weaver to earn his 12th victory of the season. Although he was 0 for 4 in today's game, Aybar said his stout hitting lately is a dividend from intensive practice, including time spent with hitting instructor Mickey Hatcher . "I've been hitting every day, working in the [batting]

OAKLAND — Right fielder Torii Hunter , on the restricted list since May 14 while he deals with the arrest of his 17-year-old son, will probably rejoin the team early next week, Manager Mike Scioscia said. Hunter has been in Texas, where Darius McClinton-Hunter was arrested on a sexual assault charge. Though the Angels have not been required to pay Hunter during his 10-day absence, he is receiving his full salary, according to a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly about it. If Hunter returns for Monday night's game against the New York Yankees in Angel Stadium, he will have been away for two weeks.

Jered Weaver struck out 11 batters for the second consecutive time and Erick Aybar hit a game-winning home run. But in the eyes of Angels Manager Mike Scioscia, the deciding factor in the Angels' 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium was the relief pitching of Kevin Jepsen in the eighth inning. Jepsen inherited runners on second base and third base with one out when Weaver departed the game Saturday, but the 25-year-old right-hander retired Michael Young and Marlon Byrd to help preserve the win. "The biggest thing this afternoon was Kevin Jepsen; I don't think you could ask for anything more from a guy pitching in the back end of the bullpen than what he did," Scioscia said.

SAN DIEGO - This is not the stuff of which championship teams are made. The Angels had the chance to move within six games of the Texas Rangers for the first time in a month. Their starting pitcher was Dan Haren, a three-time All-Star. The opposing starting pitcher was Eric Stults, who last won a major league game three years ago. The opposing team was the San Diego Padres, with the worst record in the National League. The Angels lost, of course. It was not so much Saturday's final score - Padres 3, Angels 2 - that reflected the problem.

The Angels are keeping their fingers crossed that shortstop Erick Aybar did not seriously injure his left knee when Casey McGehee of the Milwaukee Brewers slid into him Monday. The Angels sent Aybar for an MRI examination Tuesday, hoping his recovery time might be measured in days instead of weeks. "We're optimistic he'll be back," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "The time frame will be determined by the results of the exam. Hopefully, it will be something minor, and we'll talk about when we can get him back in the lineup."

There were no nightmares, no endless replays in his head of the Manny Delcarmen fastball that missed his bat on that fateful suicide-squeeze attempt in Fenway Park last October. Angels shortstop Erick Aybar reported to camp Friday with a clear conscience, determined not to let his ninth-inning miscue in Game 4 of the American League division series against the Boston Red Sox mar his second full season in the big leagues.

The Angels put All-Star right fielder Torii Hunter on baseball's restricted list Monday after his 17-year-old son's arrest in Prosper, Texas, on suspicion of felony sexual assault of a child. Darius McClinton-Hunter , of McKinney, Texas, was arrested along with four high school classmates after a monthlong investigation, according to Prosper police. McClinton-Hunter and Garrick White , also 17, were arrested as adults, police said, along with three juveniles. No record of charges against McClinton-Hunter could be found on the police website.

The chances of trading Erick Aybar are remote, but General Manager Tony Reagins did not rule out the possibility of dealing the highly touted shortstop, an apparent philosophical shift that could make the Angels front-runners for Toronto ace Roy Halladay . It was reported last summer that Aybar was the sticking point in talks with the Blue Jays about Halladay: Toronto wanted Aybar badly; the Angels refused to part with him. Not necessarily so,...

Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto has had preliminary discussions with the agents for second baseman Howie Kendrick and shortstop Erick Aybar about multiple-year deals that would prevent the infielders from becoming free agents after the 2012 season. Kendrick, who hit .285 with 18 home runs, 30 doubles and 63 runs batted in last season, and the slick-fielding Aybar, who hit .279 with 10 homers, 33 doubles and 59 RBIs, are entering their final years of arbitration. "At this point, it's something we've begun to explore and will continue to explore," Dipoto said.

You won't find Angels vs. Milwaukee in the heavyweight division of baseball rivalries with Yankees vs. Red Sox and Dodgers vs. Giants; Monday night marked the first time the Angels and Brewers had met since 2004. But there seemed to be some tension between the teams after Milwaukee's Casey McGehee took out Angels shortstop Erick Aybar with a hard and questionable slide into second base in the seventh inning of the Brewers' 12-2 victory in Angel Stadium. When Aybar, whose left knee bore the brunt of the collision, had to be helped off the field, it appeared a team that lost first baseman Kendry Morales to a season-ending broken leg May 29 might lose another key infielder for an extended period.

The Angels put All-Star right fielder Torii Hunter on baseball's restricted list Monday after his 17-year-old son's arrest in Prosper, Texas, on suspicion of felony sexual assault of a child. Darius McClinton-Hunter , of McKinney, Texas, was arrested along with four high school classmates after a monthlong investigation, according to Prosper police. McClinton-Hunter and Garrick White , also 17, were arrested as adults, police said, along with three juveniles. No record of charges against McClinton-Hunter could be found on the police website.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Jason Isringhausen thought he'd have a more prominent role when he signed with the Angels in February, and so did the front office, which envisioned the 39-year-old right-hander as one of three primary short relievers in front of opening-day closer Jordan Walden . But in 11 appearances before Sunday, Isringhausen, a former closer who has 300 saves, entered a game with the Angels leading only once, when he pitched the...

The early weeks of a Major League Baseball season are full of flops — good players off to bad starts. Deputy Sports Editor Mike Hiserman has put together All-Star teams of them: (Statistics through Friday's games) American League Catcher: Russell Martin, New York Yankees Hitting .172 with two HRs, six RBIs. First base: Albert Pujols, Angels Hitting .194 with as many HRs (or less) as you. Second base: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees Hitting .255 with one HR, four RBIs.

The ball exploded off the bat of the Angels first baseman Saturday night, arced high through a twilight sky and landed well beyond the left-field fence for a sixth-inning home run. "It comes with bat speed and squaring up the ball," Manager Mike Scioscia said of loud "thwack" produced by the homer. "He can leverage a ball as well as anyone in the game. " This is what the Angels expected from slugger Albert Pujols when they signed him to a 10-year, $240-million contract in December, only there was a small but very welcome glitch in the program Saturday.

  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The struggles of Albert Pujols continued Wednesday night, the Angels first baseman extending his hitless streak to five games in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Tropicana Field. Pujols, hitless in his last 19 at-bats, grounded out to shortstop, struck out twice and walked in four plate appearances, dropping his average to .222. It marked only the second time in his career he has gone hitless in five straight games; he last did it in September of 2001, his rookie year.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — During pregame stretch Tuesday, shortstop Erick Aybar embraced Fernando Rodney and playfully tugged at the Tampa Bay Rays closer's goatee. Rodney shook hands with Albert Pujols and hugged several Angels relievers. There were no such pleasantries between Rodney and Angels Manager Mike Scioscia , not after Rodney, the former Angels reliever, fell out of favor with Scioscia and was buried on the bench in August and September. "I haven't talked to him, I won't seek him out," Rodney said of Scioscia.

— The Angels committed two more errors Saturday, giving them five in the first two games against the Tigers, but the one that led to Detroit's score-tying unearned run in the fifth inning seemed more a mental mistake than a physical error. Johnny Damon doubled to lead off the inning, and Magglio Ordonez followed with a sharp grounder to shortstop Erick Aybar . The speedy Damon took off for third, the ball rolling behind him as it headed for Aybar, but instead of throwing to first for a sure out, Aybar, an aggressive and at times acrobatic defender with a very strong arm, threw to third.

The Angels have agreed to terms with Gold Glove-winning shortstop Erick Aybar on a four-year contract extension, reportedly worth $35 million, and the deal will be announced at an informal luncheon at the ESPN Zone in Anaheim on Thursday. "It took a while," said General Manager Jerry Dipoto , who has been negotiating with Aybar's agents since early January, "but I don't think there was ever a thought that we wouldn't get to this point. " Aybar, a career .274 hitter, probably could have made more had he opted for free agency, and agent Fernando Cuza , who attended Wednesday night's game, advised Aybar that big-market teams such as the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets could drive up the market for the switch-hitter.

Too much of a good thing is not a good thing. Too much hot fudge can spoil the sundae. A current case in point is your Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. We have been giddy since owner Arte Moreno and his TV partners bought Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. Baseball fans and sportswriters love to win World Series on paper, and these two seemed to put the Angels under the bright lights in late October. But did they? Pujols is not the problem. Waiting for his first homer as an Angel is a sideshow.

Angels right fielder Torii Hunter had a lengthy closed-door meeting with Manager Mike Scioscia before Thursday night's game against the Oakland Athletics, and among the subjects discussed was mixing in a few starts at designated hitter and an occasional day off to keep the 36-year-old's legs fresh. Hunter, who is batting .279 with a team-leading 13 strikeouts, no home runs and three doubles, said he requested the meeting, but he would not discuss anything else he spoke to Scioscia about.