Angels dump Dodgers for fourth consecutive win
LOS ANGELES -- It must have been something in the coffee.
The Los Angeles Angels went to Seattle last week with a six-game losing streak. They swept the Mariners at Safeco Field over the weekend and kept their momentum going by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 Monday night at Dodger Stadium in the opener of the four-game Freeway Series between the Southern California neighbors.
After scoring a total of 18 runs during their 0-6 homestand (including 10 in the final loss, 12-10 to the St. Louis Cardinals), the Angels have scored 26 during their four-game winning streak.
Mike Trout and Albert Pujols combined to go 5-for-8 with five RBIs on Monday.
In the process, the Angels continued a downward trend for Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda.
The Japanese pitcher got off to a strong start in his first four major league starts. He allowed just one run in 25 1/3 innings while striking out 23 and holding opposing batters to a .189 batting average.
Things have taken a decided turn since then. Over his past four starts, Maeda has allowed 14 runs in 21 2/3 innings while allowing a .241 average against.
Monday's start against the Angels was the shortest of them all. He lasted just four innings before he was pulled by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after only 73 pitches.
Maeda (3-3) was changed with four runs on five hits. He struck out five and walked two.
The Angels went down in order in the first two innings against Maeda but nearly batted around in the third inning, scoring four times against him on five hits, including RBI singles by Gregorio Petit and Pujols and a two-run, bases-loaded single by Trout.
Maeda had been adept at getting out of jams in his first seven starts, holding opposing batters to a .111 average (3-for-27) with runners in scoring position in those games. However, the Angels went 4-for-6 with men in scoring position in the third inning alone.
Coming into the game, it was the Angels who must have felt trepidation about their pitching. Beset by injuries in their rotation, they recalled Matt Shoemaker from Triple-A last week.
Shoemaker brought an unsightly 9.12 ERA into Monday's start, but he kept the Dodgers well enough in check to leave with the lead after five innings.
Shoemaker (2-5) yielded six hits and two walks while striking out five.
The bottom of the Dodgers' order put together a two-out, two-run rally in the second inning when back-to-back walks were followed by back-to-back RBI singles from Carl Crawford and Maeda.
Trayce Thompson clubbed a solo home run off Shoemaker in the fourth to briefly cut the Dodgers' deficit to 4-3.
The Angels put some distance between themselves and the Dodgers with a three-run burst against reliever Pedro Baez in the seventh. Pujols collected his own two-run, bases-loaded single in that inning, and Johnny Giavotella added a sacrifice fly.
However, Thompson did it again, making it a one-run game again in the eighth with a two-run home run. It was his fourth home run in his past 14 plate appearances and fifth in his past eight games.
The 11th pitcher of the night, Fernando Salas, finally closed out the victory for the Angels. He threw a scoreless ninth inning for his second save of the season.
NOTES: Angels RHP Garrett Richards is opting for a stem-cell injection to treat a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow rather than having Tommy John surgery. Richards will be shut down for six weeks and re-evaluated at that point. ... Sources indicate the Angels are close to signing free-agent RHP Tim Lincecum. The 31-year-old has not pitched since last June and underwent hip surgery. The two-time Cy Young winner held a workout for scouts in Arizona on May 6. The Angels are in need of starting pitching after injuries to Richards, Andrew Heaney and C.J. Wilson. ... Wilson (shoulder) threw a three-inning simulated game Monday afternoon. ... Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder surgery) "felt good" after making his first rehab start Sunday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Ryu threw 22 pitches in two scoreless innings for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. Ryu is scheduled to make his second rehab start Friday for Rancho Cucamonga, with an approximate pitch count of 45.