(Sports Network) – Lefty Ted Lilly returns for the first time since a near- masterpiece when the Chicago Cubs host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the middle game of a three-game interleague series tonight at Wrigley Field.
On Friday, Scott Kazmir picked up his fourth straight win, backed by home runs from Howie Kendrick and Torii Hunter, as the Angels took the opener by a 7-6 score. Kazmir (7-5) went six innings and held Chicago to five hits and two runs as the Angels logged their first win at Wrigley Field. The Cubs took two of three in Anaheim in 2004.
Hunter ended 2-for-3, walked and scored three runs for the Angels.
Tyler Colvin hit a three-run homer in the ninth to help make things interesting for the Cubs, who had won the last two games of a three-game series with Oakland.
Derrek Lee had a pair of solo blasts, his ninth and 10th of the season.
Chicago’s Carlos Silva (8-2) took the loss for a second consecutive outing after starting the season 8-0. He was charged with three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks in six innings.
Lilly, a 34-year-old California native, carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox on June 13 before settling for a 1-0 victory after Juan Pierre broke up the gem.
The win ended an eight-start winless drought.
One start earlier, Lilly had allowed just four hits and a run in eight innings while getting a no-decision at Milwaukee, a game the Cubs won, 3-2. Over his last seven starts, Lilly’s earned run average has dropped from a season-high 5.29 to 2.90.
He is 5-4 in 10 career starts against the Angels.
Los Angeles goes with 6-foot-7 right Jared Weaver, who looks for a third win in his fourth June start.
The 27-year-old was 4-2 in his initial 10 starts of the season and has added victories at Kansas City and at the Los Angeles Dodgers this month.
On June 13 against the Dodgers, he scattered five hits and allowed three runs with seven strikeouts in six innings – winning, 6-5.
Weaver, who has never faced the Cubs, is 4-2 with a 4.44 ERA in eight 2010 road starts.