Asked about recording the 1,000th strikeout of his career Friday, John Lackey said he didn't even realize he had reached the milestone. His victim on No. 1,000, Kevin Youkilis, was arguing with the umpire and Lackey thought his cheers were actually jeers for Youkilis.

Now that he realizes it was No. 1,000, what does he think?.

"It means I'm a long way away from Nolan (Ryan)," he said referring to Ryan's record of 5,714 strikeouts.

Angels minor league players Kevin Jepsen and Matt Brown have been selected to the US Olympic team...They will leave their respective clubs July 27 and return Aug. 25.

What does Vladimir Guerrero have in common with Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda and Tony Perez? Well, nothing anymore. Guerrero moved past both sluggers on the all-time home run list with his 380th long ball. Guerrero now is in 57th place on the all-time home run list.

According to the Rocky Mountain News and foxsports.com, the Angels are interested in Rockies slugger Matt Holliday. So far the Angels are quiet on the subject, as is to be expected. Holliday would certainly deliver an offensive upgrade. Gary Matthews Jr. could be sent to Colorado in the deal, along with prospects, and the Angels will likely be on the hook for much of Matthews' salary. The trade deadline ends at the end of the month so we will see how this rumor moves along.

After a what started out as a bad day, Kelvim Escobar got some decent news Tuesday. Escobar was dominating in a rehab assignment at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Monday night but went to bed with some soreness that remained Tuesday morning. Escobar has been on the DL since the start of the season because a tear in his right labrum.

He was examined by team doctor Lewis Yocum and it was determined that Escobar had more irritation, but for now, nothing more. Rest was ordered and he will be re-examined soon.

You have to hand it to Jered Weaver. He pitched one the best outings of his career Saturday against the Dodgers with six hitless innings, but still thought he could have, and should have done better. A Weaver fielding error eventually led to the only Dodgers run of the night as the Angels lost even though they didn't give up a hit. It was a historic night as the Angels became the fifth team in the modern era to lose a game while not allowing their opponent a hit. It was the sixth time it has ever happened in major-league history.

"Anytime you lose it's not a good outing for you," Weaver said. "You're out there to win ballgames and go as deep as you can. Anytime you lose it's going to stick with for a little bit. I'm sure (everybody) is going to eat this up a lot longer than I am."

Weaver owned up to all lof it, even though the Angels offense was nowhere to be seen.

"Any loss is tough, it doesn't matter what the (pitching) line is," he said. "You're trying to go out there and win ballgames and anytime your team doesn't come out ahead, it's frustrating. What are you going to do? You have to come back out there and win tomorrow."

"This stings a little more, but any time you lose it's going to sting."

Friday's defeat, combined with one at Washington on Wednesday means the Angels have lost consecutive road games for the first time since May 7-11 when they lost four in a row (one at KC and three at Tampa Bay). Friday's 6-0 defeat to the Dodgers was just the third time the Angels have been shut out this season. They were also shut out May 9 and 10 at Tampa Bay.

At least Vladimir Guerrero managed to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, but had to do it on an infield single. He is batting .426 (26-for-61) during his hit streak to raise his average from .251 to its current .290.

Manager Mike Scioscia said he made Chone Figgins a late stratch against the Dodgers on Friday because of an infection Figgins developed on a cut near his knee. Scioscia said Figgins is on antibiotics and the infection is not deemed to be serious. Robb Quinlan started at third base in place of Figgins. The Angels' regular leadoff hitter is available for pinch-hit duty if necessary.

That six-run first inning the Angels threw at the Washington Nationals today was the first time the team has scored six runs in the first inning since July 27 of last season when they did it against the Detroit Tigers. The Angels won that game 11-6.

This little tidbit below is courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau. It seems like the Angels have managed the talent of winning when the offense doesn't contribute a whole lot. Since they've had enough practice at the habit, it would stand to reason they have gotten pretty good at it.

From Elias:

The Angels beat the Nationals, 3-2, on Monday night. It was the
major league-high 15th time this season that Mike Scioscia's team won a
game in which it scored three-or-fewer runs. No other team in the
majors has won more than 11 games of that type this season.