A disappointing homestand continued Sunday afternoon as the Los Angeles Dodgers lost 6-4 to the Los Angeles Angels, resulting with being swept in the first leg of the Freeway Series.
Amid a dire need for length from their starting pitchers, the Dodgers received yet another short outing. This time it was Tony Gonsolin who was the culprit in part because of an apparent cut or hangnail on his right thumb.
Gonsolin’s day got off to an inauspicious start as he surrendered a leadoff home run to Zach Neto. Trainers then went on to check on Gonsolin as he dealt with some bleeding from his right hand.
Gonsolin managed to remain in the game and retired the next batter faced. But a walk then led to Taylor Ward hitting a two-run homer.
Sunday marked a second consecutive game the Angels took a 3-0 lead on the Dodgers in the first inning.
Travis d’Arnaud added an RBI single in the third. Gonsolin wound up pitching just four innings, with four runs allowed on four hits and five walks.
Yusei Kikuchi upheld the Angels’ lead as he pitched into the sixth inning. He was removed from the game after colliding with Tommy Edman while covering first base. Edman went 0-for-4 in his first game off the injured list.
Kikuchi allowed just one run and finished with seven strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Ironically, the lone run the Dodgers scored off Kikuchi came when Kiké Hernández ran through Dino Ebel’s stop sign on Shohei Ohtani’s single in fifth inning.
There was the potential for the Dodgers to add on as walks by Mookie Betts and Will Smith loaded the bases. However, Kikuchi escaped the jam by getting Freddie Freeman to fly out.
The Dodgers had another opportunity in the seventh inning thanks to Michael Conforto being hit by a pitch and Ohtani reaching on an infield single. Will Smith then tied the game with a two-out home run and improved to 17-for-35 (.486) with runners in scoring position this season.
Smith’s heroics were quickly washed away by d’Arnaud hitting a solo home run off Anthony Banda in the eighth inning. The homer was Banda’s fifth allowed this season, matching his total from 2024.
The Angels scored again in the ninth inning with Luis García on the mound.
Freeway Series history: Angels and Dodgers facts
The Angels won a series at Dodger Stadium for the first time since sweeping a two-game set from July 23-24, 2019. Sunday’s victory gave the the Angels their first sweep of the Dodgers in a three-game series since June 11-13, 2010, which also was played at Dodger Stadium.
Prior to being swept, the Dodgers had already dropped their first series since April 22-23 against the Chicago Cubs.
This year’s Freeway Series features six games in a season for the first time since 2021. The Dodgers and Angels split their four head-to-head meetings last year.
The Angels now lead the Freeway Series all-time with a 78-73 record against the Dodgers. Their next meeting is in Anaheim from Aug. 11-13.
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