The Angels Strike First In The Battle Of Los Angeles
- Updated: May 17, 2016
The Angels made their annual trip up the five freeway north to the one-ten east, to visit their brothers in blue last night, as the Angels strike first in the battle of L.A, beating the Dodgers 7-6.
This was a great way to start off the series, this was the first of four games between the two and this is also Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts debut series against the cross-town rivals. Carl Crawford started the scoring for the Dodgers as he lashed a single to left that scored Joc Pederson and moving Trayce Thompson to second base. Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda (L,3-3), helped his own cause by slapping a single to left, scoring Thompson to give the Dodgers the early two-run lead. The Angels only needed two innings of work to hold onto this victory, a big four-run third and a three-run seventh, for the game winner.
The Angels wasted no time after the Dodgers took the lead, the teams big guns Albert Pujols and Mike Trout went to work. After a single from Gregorio Petit that scored Carlos Perez, Trout singled and drove both Petit and Yunel Escobar in, to give the lead back to the Halos. Albert Pujols finished off the inning with a single to center that scored Kole Calhoun, giving the Angels a 4-2 lead.
Trayce Thompson was a definite bright spot for the Dodgers offense, as the Right fielder connected for his first two-homer game of his young career. The first came off of Angels starter Matt Shoemaker (W,2-5), in the bottom of the fourth on a one-out first pitch that cleared the centerfield wall. The second was again over the centerfield wall off of Angels reliever Mike Morin, in the bottom of the eight, which was the final run for the Dodgers.
The seventh inning of this game was very interesting, The Angels scored three times in the inning, and the Dodgers also added a run in the bottom of the frame, but the big controversial question was if Albert Pujols left first base early on a tag-up heading to second base. After Johnny Giavotella had flown out to Joc Pederson, the umpires initially called him out but after five minutes of reviews, a phone call to the Angels video person and the appearance by both managers on the field, the umpires reversed the call.
HALOS AND BLUE CREW DUGOUT:
Both teams used a lot of pitchers in this first game of the series, which cause a problem for both teams. Six by the Angels and five for the Dodgers. In the long-run, Angels reliever Fernando Salas picked up his second save the season.
ANGELS AND DODGERS ON DECK:
The two teams will conclude this series tonight at Dodger Stadium before moving to the Big “A” for the final two games in the Freeway Series. The Angels (17-21), has been on a nice run, after a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners and the first game of this series, the Angels will be looking for their fifth straight win. The Dodgers (20-19), have now dropped two in a row, and they are looking to regain some momentum to get back into the win column.
Both teams will send their aces to the mound in game two tonight. Anaheim will send Jered Weaver (3-2, 6.10 ERA), The Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw (5-1, 1.74 ERA) to help the team end the mini skid. The Los Angeles Angels are currently in second place in the American League West, four and a half games behind the co-leaders, Seattle, and Texas. The Dodgers are currently in second place, one-tenth of a percentage point behind the Colorado Rockies. The team is a game and a half behind the San Francisco Giants, in the National League West.
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