Calhoun brings out a big broom
Right fielder hits a solo home run and a run-scoring double to lead Angels sweep.
A season sweep of the Dodgers was not on the Angels’ minds.
But as the possibility of one developed after victories in the Angel Stadium games of the Freeway Series last month and another victory at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, the chance of four victories over their local rivals became tantalizing.
Unlike the Dodgers, the Angels are on the outskirts of the postseason chase. They still trail the American League West-leading Houston Astros by 111⁄2 games. Yet, they have managed to stay alive in the wild-card race despite the devastating loss of Tyler Skaggs and the 5.57 ERA posted by their starting pitchers in July.
So when the Angels bullpen gave up only one run through four innings in front of a rowdy sellout crowd of 53,371, a 3-2 victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday meant more to a club trying to establish its identity as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.
It was the Angels’ 12th win in their last 18 games and pushed them to five games above .500 for the first time.
One night after calling the series opener the Angels’ biggest victory of the year, center fielder Mike Trout burst out of the batter’s box on a grounder to shortstop with a runner on first base in the first inning. As he bar
reled down the line, the Dodgers settled for a forceout at second base. Trout had sprinted at a rate of 30.7 feet, nearly four feet per second better than the average baserunning speed.
When Kole Calhoun hit a twoout double into the right-field corner, Trout scored easily as second baseman Enrique Hernandez bobbled a relay throw. Trout hit a ball deep enough to left field in the sixth inning to drive in the Angels’ third run on a sacrifice fly, which provided the difference in the game.
For a Dodgers squad that has the best record in the National League, this interleague matchup provided little intrigue. Asked whether avoiding a sweep and falling to 40-14 at home seemed like a necessity, manager Dave Roberts said “definitely not.”
“I think that’s a little too strong,” he said. “I think that we expect to, we want to. I think that we played a good game yesterday and got beat. So today I think is just more looking at Ross [Stripling] giving us a good outing and guys taking good at-bats. We’ll see what happens.”
The Dodgers pulled ahead in counts against starter Jaime Barria (4-3) so often that his pitch count surpassed 50 after three innings. But Barria, trying to rebound from a 32⁄3-inning outing in which he gave up 10 earned runs to the Seattle Mariners, performed favorably otherwise. Not counting Justin Turner’s leadoff home run in the fourth inning that halved what was a 2-0 Angels lead, Barria kept the Dodgers from advancing past first base in his five innings.
Stripling (4-4) held up his end for Roberts. He turned in his fourth consecutive start without walking a batter. Over five innings, most of the hard contact made against him went for outs. He threw an efficient 62 pitches. Only Calhoun’s double and fourth-inning home run damaged his final line of two runs and three hits.
Yet, Roberts had to be cautious with Stripling. After batting for himself in the fifth inning, Stripling was replaced by JT Chargois, who promptly gave up a hit, stolen base and run. At that point, Stripling was nowhere to be seen in the dugout. It was later announced that he had a stiff neck.
Hernandez departed the game, too, after receiving a visit from Roberts and a trainer during his fourth-inning at-bat. The Dodgers described the infielder’s ailment as left hand soreness.
The Dodgers are cruising, their 67 victories the most in the major leagues. They have a 141⁄2-game lead in the National League West, so far ahead that not even the surging San Francisco Giants present a serious threat.
Injuries might be the only things that can trouble the Dodgers now.