The Los Angeles Dodgers mustered all of five hits and suffered a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the second of the three-game exhibition Freeway Series. It sets the stage for a rubber match at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, with first pitch at 7:10 p.m. PT.
Rich Hill’s final start of the spring left some to be desired as he allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits in five innings. Prior to the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the baseline for the veteran southpaw was five innings.
“Depending on how efficient he is will determine if he gets into the sixth inning,” Roberts said. “But yeah five or six innings is something we’re hoping for.”
The Angels did all of their damage in the third inning, beginning with a Zack Cozart one-out base hit. Mike Trout then reached on catcher’s interference, and Yasiel Puig failed to keep control of the ball on his attempt at a diving catch on a sinking line drive.
Albert Pujols then cleared the bases with a double off the wall in left field. Andrelton Simmons scored Pujols with a single to left field, in some part because Austin Barnes failed to field a one-hopper from Matt Kemp.
Of the Dodgers’ four hits on the night, each came in a separate inning. And one, Cody Bellinger’s double in the second, still left the bases empty as he thrown out attempting to stretch it to a leadoff triple.
Chris Taylor was robbed of a leadoff double by Mike Trout’s diving catch, which the umpiring crew initially deemed a hit before the Angels successfully challenged the call. If not for Andrew Toles’ leadoff home run in the ninth inning, the Dodgers were bound for a shutout loss.
The Dodgers bullpen combined to throw four scoreless innings, complete with six strikeouts. Kenley Jansen retired both batters faced in the ninth in what was his first back-to-back appearance of the year. Jansen’s spring wrapped up with a 0.00 ERA, six strikeouts, and 14 of 15 batters retired across 4.2 innings.
