Dodgers throw it away against Angels

ANAHEIM >> In a game ruled by the three true outcomes of statistical royalty (home runs, walks and strikeouts), it was inevitable — a walkoff strikeout.

With the game tied 2-2 in the ninth iing, Angels outfielder Ben Revere reached base with one out on an error by Dodgers sub shortstop Chris Taylor. A wild pitch moved Revere to second base.

A seven-pitch at-bat by Cameron Maybin ended when he chased a changeup in the dirt from Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez. But the ball bounded away from Yasmani Grandal who chased it down — and then threw it away, over first baseman Chase Utley’s head. That allowed Revere to score the wiing run as the Angels beat the Dodgers, 3-2.

Until that odd outcome, the game was all about the longball.

Andrelton Simmons banged a hanging curveball from Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu into the bullpens for a two-run home run that broke a scoreless tie in the sixth iing and put the Angels in front of the Dodgers in the first Angel Stadium edition of the four-game, home-and-home Freeway Series.

But the Dodgers came back with home runs of their own — first by Trayce Thompson leading off the eighth iing and then by Grandal in the ninth with the Angels one strike away from closing it out.

Simmons’ two-out home run was nearly all the offense the Angels needed on a night when right-hander Alex Meyer and the Angels bullpen held the Dodgers to four hits in nine iings.

The Dodgers came into this aual clash of neighbors averaging eight runs per game during a 10-game wiing streak with 27 home runs and a team batting average of .297.

Some serious climate change has followed. They have been held to six runs in three games against the Angels while batting .148 (13 for 88) as a team through the first nine iings Wednesday.

Right-hander Alex Meyer took an unconventional route to six scoreless iings against the Dodgers Wednesday. The Dodgers had five baseruers against him in the first three iings without getting a hit. All five came on walks and were stranded.

Grandal led off the fourth iing with a single, the only hit off the lanky right-hander Wednesday and Meyer retired the last eight batters he faced before handing it over to the Angels bullpen.

Ryu survived Simmons’ line drive in the fourth iing and did his own version of bobbing and weaving away from damage on the scoreboard. The Angels stranded ruers in scoring position in the third and fourth iings.

Advertisement

Kole Calhoun led off the sixth with a double and it looked like Ryu would slither out of trouble there as well. He struck out Albert Pujols for a third time – part of eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 iings for Ryu – and got Yunel Escobar to fly out harmlessly to right field.

Simmons did the harm instead, jumping on Ryu’s first pitch to give the Angels the lead.

The Dodgers cut that in half when Thompson hit a solo home run off Keynan Middleton to start the eighth iing and Justin Tuer put a charge in the sellout crowd of 44,669 (the second-largest at Angel Stadium since the renovation in 1998) with a fly ball to the wall in center field.

Bedrosian took over in the ninth and retired the first two batters easily. But he fell behind Grandal, 3-and-0, before working the count full. Grandal was all over a full-count slider, driving it over the wall in straightaway center field to tie the game temporarily.

sport world...