LOS ANGELES -- He couldn't have looked more odd standing out there, wearing San Diego's uniform and Mike Trout's number.
The team didn't have No. 36 available for Jered Weaver, those digits belonging instead to pitching coach Darren Balsley, who, as a player, never advanced beyond Class AA.
Yes, one of the greatest all-time Angels is now just another one-time Padre, a guy trying to extend his career on a team facing a season that will be all about survival.
As bizarre as things appeared early Thursday at Dodger Stadium, Weaver then threw a pitch -- his first for a team other than the one for whom he toiled 2,025 innings -- and everything suddenly looked quite familiar.
Five innings of huffing and puffing later, Weaver had allowed four runs -- on two blistering homers by Yasiel Puig -- in what would become a 10-2 laugher for the Dodgers.
"I thought, for the most part, Weave was out there battling," his manager said afterward. "I thought it was a fairly competitive outing."
If that sounds like something you've heard before, that's only because you have heard it before. The words belonged to Andy Green this time. But the sentiment was pure Mike Scioscia.
Weaver's fastball peaked in the mid-80s. He fooled a few hitters but not enough of them. He continued to search for outs and a whole lot more.
Weaver reacted by tossing his head back in frustration. He sat idly on the bench between innings and stared at nothing. He, at least once, pitched his glove in disgust.
Weaver, just like always, fought with everything he had, which, once again, wasn't much.
The images were ones Angels fans have seen plenty of times, even if they came this time with no Angels emotion attached.
"For the most part, I felt good," Weaver said. "I was able to execute some pitches, was able to get some outs, get some guys off balance. The walks are what I'm most frustrated about."
He walked three, although only one of them scored. He also hit a batter. But Weaver's non-Angels debut was doomed by the 798 combined feet of Puig prodigiousness.
The distance was estimated; the damage was precise.
Even if he was wearing foreign colors, Weaver, 34, strode on familiar ground. A Southern California native, this was his 12th start against the Dodgers.
Last season, his 11th with the Angels, was a difficult one for Weaver, some of the math -- 5.06 ERA, 37 home runs allowed -- flatly horrific.
Still, he finished with 12 victories, which led the Angels and was more than every Dodger other than Kenta Maeda.
OK, so it took Clayton Kershaw missing nearly half the season to clinch that particular statistic. But the point is Weaver still admirably and impressively found ways to win.
At $3 million, Weaver was the highest-paid starter for the Padres on Thursday. Their entire lineup for that game will be paid slightly more than $12 million for the season, which is less than four Dodgers will make on their own.
When he signed with San Diego only hours before the start of spring training, Weaver was practically assured a spot in the rotation, an opportunity no other club could have offered.
The Padres, of course, aren't the only team in baseball lacking an ace. But San Diego is one of the few also lacking a No. 2 starter and, to be honest, probably a No. 3, as well.
So, in other words, as long as last season was at times for Weaver, this season could end up feeling like it's being played uphill, into the wind and underwater.
There's also this: With his history as an Angel, Weaver was never going to be released, no matter how much he struggled. As a short-term Padre -- depending on how this season unfolds -- there are no certainties.
"I thought it was going to be a lot more strange than it is," Weaver said of now officially calling anywhere other than Anaheim his baseball home. "It's the same game. It's the same competitive mindset. It's just with a new team."
A new team. A new chance. A new start.
And an old battle continues.
Sports on 04/09/2017