" The Angels have not had a pitcher finish a season as the American League leader in strikeouts since Nolan Ryan capped an eight-year run in 1979 in which an Angels pitcher led the league.

Ryan, of course, won seven of those strikeout titles (1972-74, '76-79) and Frank Tanana (1975) won the other.

The Angels now have two pitchers who could do it in Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. Weaver leads the majors with 162, and Haren is second with a 155. Haren, though, won't win a league strikeout crown because 141 of his strikeouts came in the National League with the Arizona Diamondbacks before his trade to the Angels. However, he still could win the major-league title.

But there can be a down side to a pitcher getting a lot of strikeouts. Lots of strikeouts often lead to high pitch counts, which can take a toll on pitchers over time. No pitcher in baseball has matched Haren's streak of five consecutive seasons throwing at least 215 innings, and he's on track to make it six. Weaver went over the 200 mark (211) last year for the first time in his career.

Haren, though, never has been on the disabled list; Weaver has once (2007, bicep tendinitis).

"There are times when you need a strikeout, and those are the times I like to be able to get 'em," Haren said. "It's not like I'm trying to strike guys out, it just works out that way a lot of times. And now with this defense behind me, I'm going to be around the strike zone a lot. (Saturday) night I got a lot of ground balls to first and third.

"I like to keep the infield and outfield on their toes."

Weaver has made at least 100 pitches in 21 of his 23 starts and made 94 and 98 pitches in the other two. "