YES Network.com

NEW YORK — There was a J. Weaver lighting it up at Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon, and while the medium-length blond locks and soul patch under the bottom lip seemed real familiar, it wasn't the guy you're thinking of.

No, it wasn't Jeff Weaver, the poor guy who toiled here for a season and a half in 2002-03. This was younger bro Jered, who came in wearing an Angels jersey and left practically wearing a big S on his chest.

Off to a phenomenal start, the younger Weaver raised his still-perfect record to 8-0 - holding the Yankees to a run on three hits over six innings while striking out eight. Weaver's streak of winning eight straight decisions to start his career hasn't been seen since Livan Hernandez did it with the Marlins in 1997 and he's one win away from tying Yankee great Whitey Ford's American League record of winning his first nine decisions.

This wasn't Jered's first trip to The House That Ruth Built, however. The right-hander visited big brother Jeff here for about 10-12 days while a sophomore at Long Beach State. Spending time around his brother, hanging around the clubhouse and meeting players from the Yankees and opposing teams, Jered got a good sense of what pitching would be like in the majors.

The tutelage came in handy because the Angels have had Weaver, 23, on the fast track ever since drafting him in the first round in 2004 (12th overall).

"It's awesome. I always wanted to come and pitch at Yankee Stadium," Jered Weaver said. "I took the mound and had that lineup coming up against me. It was kind of like I was in a video game and it didn't quite kick in, but it was definitely a good time for me."

It sure was, even with the Yankee hitters showing more patience than they usually have against rookie starters and stretching Weaver to 104 pitches.The high pitch count got to Weaver in the early innings, with the rookie showing more frustration than in most of his starts. No, he wasn't shouting into his glove like Jeff used to, yet it was clear Jered wasn't happy about some of the calls.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who is 4-2 against the Yankees this year and has won the last two season series against them, didn't take much exception to Weaver's body language.

"You have to be good enough to absorb what's happening around you," Scioscia said. "If there's a bloop hit or an error, or maybe pitch you don't agree with, you have to absorb that and move on. I thought he was fine."

You just had to wonder if there was any motivation behind Sunday's outing, which broke a string of three mediocre starts. After all, Jeff Weaver's tenure here didn't end well. Coming to the Yankees in a three-way deal with Detroit and Oakland in the middle of the 2002 season, Jeff Weaver was supposed to be a front-of-the-rotation pitcher who would give the aging Yankees rotation a youthful jolt.

By the following December, Jeff and his 5.99 ERA in 2003 were shipped off to the Dodgers with prospects for Kevin Brown, who ended up making everyone around him look young.

It was probably a recent topic of conversation between the siblings. After all, they talk every other day, or, as Jered put it, at least "every other other day."

"He had his stint here and he was sad to leave. He wanted to prove to everybody that he could do it," Jered Weaver said. "It probably was in the back of my mind a little bit, but I was just trying to make strikes and see what happens from there."

So far it looks pretty good.