ANAHEIM, Calif. – Erick Aybar hit his first leadoff homer and Bobby Abreu added a two-run shot, leading Jered Weaver and the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Monday night.

Weaver (3-0) allowed a run and seven hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking one. It’s the first time the right-hander has won his first three decisions since 2006, when he joined Livan Hernandez and Hall of Famer Whitey Ford as the only pitchers to go 9-0 in their first 12 big league starts.

Cleveland’s David Huff (1-3) gave up five runs and 12 hits over 5 1/3 innings in his second start since beating Texas with a four-hitter on April 15. The former UCLA left-hander worked with runners in scoring position in each of the first five innings and allowed the leadoff man to reach base in five of the first six.

Angels designated hitter Hideki Matsui singled in the fifth for his 1,000th hit in the majors, lining a 2-2 pitch to right field. His first career hit was an RBI single against Roy Halladay in his first big league at-bat on March 31, 2003, with the New York Yankees at Toronto.

Last year’s World Series MVP had 1,390 hits for the Yomiuri Giants during his 10-year career in Japan, where he was a three-time MVP of the Central League and a three-time home run and RBI champion.

Kevin Jepsen took over for Weaver in the seventh and became the second Angels reliever on this homestand to walk the bases loaded – along with Scot Shields. But the Angels got out of the inning unscathed, as Jepsen struck out cleanup hitter Travis Hafner and retired Russell Branyan on a groundout.

Austin Kearns led off the Cleveland eighth against Brian Stokes with his first home run of the season and third hit of the game. But Fernando Rodney got the last two outs of the inning and Brian Fuentes pitched a hitless ninth for his third save.

The Angels grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first, as Huff threw 28 pitches and gave up hits to the first three batters. Aybar drove his second delivery of the game into the lower seats in the left-field corner for his 10th homer in 1,223 big league at-bats and first since Aug. 8, 2008, against Texas’ Eddie Guardado.

Torii Hunter’s double sent Abreu to third, and Matsui drove him in with a sacrifice fly. Hunter scored on Juan Rivera’s two-out bloop single.

The Indians got one back in the second on a two-out single by Jhonny Peralta, who entered in a 4-for-33 rut that had lowered his average to .154.

Abreu made it 5-1 in the sixth, driving Huff’s 104th and final pitch about 10 rows back in the elevated seats in right-center on a 2-0 count for his fourth homer after striking out in his previous two at-bats.

Notes

The Angels’ bullpen added six walks to its season total. They are the only team in the majors whose relievers have allowed more walks than the starting pitchers (45-32).

** When Weaver struck out Asdrubal Cabrera in a 12-pitch at-bat leading off the third, he reached the 700-inning mark in his career – a span in which he compiled a 53-27 record with a 3.69 ERA and 577 strikeouts.

LORAIN — A fire overnight caused “heavy, heavy damage” to a Lorain pizza shop, according to Fire Chief Tom Brown.

And the Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau and the Lorain Police Department are looking into whether it was intentionally set, according to Assistant Chief Randy Hupp.

Hupp said the scene is being investigated as a “possible break-in and possible arson” due to evidence found at the scene. He declined to go into detail on what that evidence was.

The fire, called in about 4:15 a.m. devastated D’Tutanelli’s Pizza at East Erie and Georgia avenues, which just opened a couple years ago under new management. It was formerly Granny D’s pizza and was the site of the 2007 murder of its owner at the time, David Kowalczyk.

The fire started in a back storage area, according to Brown, but the entire building sustained smoke and water damage. Hupp said damage was estimated at $125,000 to the building and $50,000 to its contents. He said the building and contents had been valued at $350,000.

Hupp said firefighters arrived to find “heavy fire coming from an east-side window” and he said it was apparent the fire had been burning for some time.

East Erie Avenue was closed between Georgia and Florida avenues for several hours as firefighters battled the fire.

Check back at Chroniclet.com for more on this story as it becomes available.

LORAIN — The Lorain Fire Department says a fire that damaged a vacant home in South Lorain this afternoon is being considered suspicious.

The Fire Department was called to 4208 Riverside Drive a little before 1 p.m.

Upon arrival, firefighters found about a 10-foot square of vinyl siding on the outside rear corner of the home burning, according to fire Capt. Tom Sultzer. Firefighters had the fire out in under 10 minutes he said.

Sultzer estimated damage at $1,000.

He said the front door of the home was unsecured. The department’s Fire Prevention Bureau is investigating the fire.

Sultzer said there was no indication to him what might have caused the fire.

MINNEAPOLIS — There was a time when Francisco Liriano was nearly unhittable, an intimidating force at the top of the Minnesota rotation that piled up strikeouts while the Twins piled up victories.

Many thought that pitcher was gone forever after Tommy John surgery in 2007. It’s very early in this 2010 season, but signs of the old Liriano are finally starting to resurface.

Liriano struck out six in eight scoreless innings to lead the Twins to a 6-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night.

Liriano (2-1) allowed six hits and walked two and Michael Cuddyer had a homer, a triple and three RBIs for the Twins, who are off to an 11-4 start thanks partly to Liriano regaining his form from 2006 when he was an All-Star.

“We all know the story,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Francisco Liriano was fantastic.”

David Huff (1-2) gave up only three hits in six innings for the Indians. But he walked six and allowed four runs before Aaron Laffey gave up a two-run triple to Cuddyer in the eighth that put the game out of reach.

The Twins have used 11 walks and sterling starting pitching to take the first two games of the series.

Liriano was a nearly unhittable rookie in 2006 when he went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 121 innings. But he missed all of 2007 after the surgery and has been slow to work his way back.

He went 5-13 with a 5.80 ERA last season and there was a talk about him moving from the rotation to closer when Joe Nathan went down in spring training.

All that talk is over now. One day after Kevin Slowey went eight innings in a 5-1 win, Liriano dropped his ERA to 1.29 and received a standing ovation as he walked off the mound after the eighth.

“It’s nice,” Liriano said with a wide smile. “I didn’t hear that last year. Them supporting me, it’s a great feeling.”

Brendan Harris had an RBI-single and Denard Span followed with another single that scored two runs for a 3-0 lead in the second. Cuddyer hit a solo homer to right field in the sixth.

With Liriano humming right along against an overmatched Indians offense, that was plenty for the Twins.

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“Watching him from center field, I’m glad I’m not hitting against him,” Span said of Liriano. “It looks nasty.”

The lefty retired 10 of the first 12 hitters he faced, then worked out of a bases loaded jam in the fifth when he got Asdrubal Cabrera to ground into an inning-ending double play.

“We just need to keep working,” Cabrera said. “We also need to give credit to their pitchers. They’re good and they’ve been doing a good job.”

Liriano wasn’t quite as sharp with his fastball as he was in his previous start, when he struck out eight in seven scoreless innings of a victory over Boston. But then again, he didn’t have to be.

The Indians have been terrible offensively early this season, beginning the day last in the AL in batting average (.214) and slugging percentage (.338) and second-to-last in runs (46) and on-base percentage (.303).

“It’s tough when you have so many guys struggling,” said manager Manny Acta, whose Indians fell to 6-8. “That’s why I say I feel thankful to be where we’re at right now.”

Notes

• Acta said closer Kerry Wood (back) will throw a simulated game in Oakland on Friday before the team makes a decision on what to do next.
• Indians top prospect Carlos Santana had to be helped off the field for Triple-A Columbus after fouling a ball of his left knee. He is listed as day to day with a bruised left knee.