M's Notebook | This time, Weaver is on outside looking in

ANAHEIM, Calif. — This wasn't what Mariners starter Jeff Weaver had hoped to be feeling one year after being part of several on-field celebrations.

Weaver was a mainstay in a St. Louis Cardinals rotation that captured a division title, two playoff series and a World Series championship last year. He'd been in the middle of on-field exuberance after each of those, winning the clinching game against the Detroit Tigers.

One year later, he sat in a silent visitors' clubhouse. The smell of champagne from the nearby Los Angeles Angels clubhouse slowly began drifting over as Weaver's teammates packed for a long flight home.

"It's definitely disappointing," he said. "That's why I made a decision to come here. I thought it was a team that was ready to turn the corner. It just seems like a lot of stuff that was going bad caught up."

Weaver's slow start and sputtering finish was one reason the Mariners dropped out of contention. He has just seven wins and there's an outside chance he's pitched his final game for Seattle after tearing a nail in the fourth inning.

Seattle trailed 3-0 at the time after a pair of second-inning home runs yielded by Weaver — the eighth time he has allowed two or more in a game this season. He was trying to throw a cut-fastball in the fourth when he felt the nail rip along its side.

Weaver tried to continue pitching but hit three batters in his final three innings as he struggled to find control.

"It just gradually got worse where over the next few innings it was hit-or-miss," he said. "You don't want to be out there with a chance to hurt somebody."

Notes

• It took them 28 innings, but the Mariners finally solved Angels starter John Lackey on the scoreboard. A fifth-inning single by Jose Lopez scored Ben Broussard from second base after his leadoff double.

Lackey had been ahead 3-0 at the time.

He'd previously shut out the Mariners 6-0 back on Aug. 27, blanked them 8-0 on July 31 and tossed scoreless innings in a 5-0 win on May 16. All of those games were played at Safeco Field.

Broussard's double, incredibly enough, was just the first extra base hit allowed by Lackey against the Mariners all season.

The 20 prior hits he'd given up had all been singles.

Raul Ibanez and Broussard hit doubles off Lackey in the sixth for a second Seattle run. But that was all Lackey allowed over seven innings, to go to 4-0 with a 0.58 ERA against the M's.

"I think there's a couple of other teams he's done pretty well against, too," Ibanez said. "He seems to get out of jams when he needs to ... he doesn't beat himself."

There had been some pregame concern that Lackey might throw at some Mariners hitters in retaliation for Thursday's errant pitch by Jorge Campillo that sailed over the head of Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero. Lackey had been one of the first Angels out of the dugout during an angry melee in that game and gave a cryptic answer afterward when asked whether retaliation was coming.

"No comment. No paper trail," he said.

But Lackey didn't overtly throw inside on anyone in this game.

Even after Mariners starter Weaver inadvertently hit Howie Kendrick in the fourth inning and Orlando Cabrera in the fifth, then Kendrick again in the sixth.

• Mariners shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt got a day off on Sunday after complaining of a tweak he'd felt in his shoulder while making a throw to first late in Saturday's game. Betancourt had remained in that contest, but the team was taking no chances Sunday and started Willie Bloomquist in his place.

Betancourt is listed as day-to-day and made a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth, striking out against closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com.

Read his daily blog at www.seattletimes.com/Mariners

For the record

Streak: L1

Home: 44-31

Road: 39-41

vs. AL West: 28-26

vs. L.A.: 6-13

vs. Oakland: 14-5

vs. Texas: 8-8

vs. AL East: 25-19

vs. AL Cent.: 21-18

vs. NL: 9-9

vs. LHP: 26-12

vs. RHP: 57-60

Day: 23-22

Night: 60-50

One-run: 26-19

Extra innings: 4-1