Recap: What bullpen problems? Dodgers defeat Angels, 2-0

Ninth inning

Dodgers: Left-hander Aaron Loup now pitching for the Angels. Miguel Vargas flied to right. Jonny DeLuca struck out swinging. Chris Taylor, batting for Outman, flied to left.

Angels: Right-hander Evan Phillips now pitching for the Dodgers. Brandon Drury struck out looking. Hunter Renfroe struck out swinging. Mickey Moniak, batting for Kevin Padlo, popped to short.

Final score: Dodgers 2, Angels 0

Eighth inning

Dodgers: Right-hander Chris Devenski now pitching for the Angels. James Outman flied to center. Miguel Rojas doubled to left. Michael Busch hit a hopper to first that took a HIGH hop over the fielder’s head for a single, scoring Rojas. Mookie Betts fouled to first. Freddie Freeman singled to left-center, Busch to third. Will Smith singled to left, Busch scoring, Freeman to second. J.D. Martinez flied to left.

Angels: Taylor Ward flied to right. Shohei Ohtani struck out swinging. Mike Trout struck out looking.

Score after eight: Dodgers 2, Angels 0

Seventh inning

Dodgers: Will Smith singled to center. J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. Miguel Vargas flied to right. Jonny DeLuca flied to center.

Angels: Brandon Drury singled to right. Hunter Renfroe doubled to right, Drury to third. Kevin Padlo grounded to short, runners holding. Chad Wallach struck out swinging. Luis Rengifo walked, loading the bases with two out. Andrew Velazquez grounded to short. Kershaw escapes and now has thrown 103 pitches. So that was probably his last inning.

Score after seven: Dodgers 0, Angels 0

Sixth inning

Dodgers: Michael Busch flied to left. Mookie Betts struck out looking. Freddie Freeman grounded to second.

Angels: Andrew Velazquez singled to right. Taylor Ward flied to left. Shohei Ohtani flied to left. Mike Trout grounded to third.

Through six innings, Clayton Kershaw has given up three hits, walked one and struck out four. He has thrown 80 pitches.

Score after six: Dodgers 0, Angels 0

Fifth inning

Dodgers: Jonny DeLuca grounded to short. James Outman struck out looking. Miguel Rojas grounded to short.

Angels: Kevin Padlo popped to short. Chad Wallach struck out swinging. Luis Rengifo grounded to third.

Score after five: Dodgers 0, Angels 0

Fourth inning

Dodgers: Freddie Freeman walked. Will Smith lined to left. Freeman stole second. J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. Miguel Vargas grounded to third.

Angels: Shohei Ohtani struck out swinging. Mike Trout lined to left. Brandon Drury singled to left. Hunter Renfroe doubled to center, scoring Drury. However, upon review the call was overturned. Will Smith tagged Drury just before he touched home. Heck of a short-hop grab and swipe tag by Smith.

Score after four: Dodgers 0, Angels 0

Third inning

Dodgers: Miguel Rojas grounded to short. Michael Busch grounded to first. Mookie Betts struck out swinging.

Angels: Chad Wallach grounded to first. Luis Rengifo lined to left. Andrew Velazquez walked. Velazquez stole second. Taylor Ward grounded to short.

Score after three: Dodgers 0, Angels 0

Second inning

Dodgers: J.D. Martinez singled to left. Miguel Vargas lined to left. Jonny DeLuca flied to right. James Outman struck out swinging.

Angels: Brandon Drury struck out swinging. Hunter Renfroe struck out swinging. Kevin Padlo fouled to left.

Score after two: Dodgers 0, Angels 0

First inning

Dodgers: Mookie Betts struck out swinging. Freddie Freeman grounded to third. Will Smith struck out swinging.

Angels: Taylor Ward flied to right. Shohei Ohtani flied to left. Mike Trout flied to center.

Score after one: Dodgers 0, Angels 0

Julio Urías

(Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)

Julio Urías, out since May 18 because of a left-hamstring strain, threw a three-inning, 45-pitch simulated game to hitters Tuesday, an effort that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said “was really good.�

The left-hander will make a rehabilitation start for Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday with a target of four innings and 60 pitches. Barring a setback, Urías will return to the rotation for a June 30 game in Kansas City.

“It’s very important to be 100% healthy,� Urias said through an interpreter. “At the beginning [of the rehab process] we were trying to rush it, trying to get through it a little bit faster. We didn’t feel as good as I wanted to. Now I’m taking the time to get back to 100%. We’re in a bad stretch right now, but I’m trying to get back to help out the team in whatever way I can.�

Max Muncy, on the 10-day injured list because of a left-hamstring strain, was among the hitters who faced Urías, which Roberts described as “a positive sign.� The third baseman is expected to be activated for Friday night’s game against Houston.

Utility man Chris Taylor, who took injections of cortisone and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in his sore right knee over the weekend, should be available to pinch-hit Tuesday night and to hit and play defense Wednesday night with the goal of being “full-go� for the weekend series against the Astros.

Roberts said right-hander Michael Grove, who has remained with the club on the taxi squad after being optioned to triple-A last week, will likely start Wednesday night’s game against the Angels.

Veteran right-hander Ryan Brasier, who played a key relief role for the World Series-winning Boston Red Sox in 2018, was recalled from triple-A Oklahoma City in hopes of boosting a Dodgers bullpen that entered Tuesday night’s game against the Angels with a second-worst in the majors 5.04 ERA.

Left-hander Bryan Hudson was optioned to triple-A, and to make room on the 40-man roster for Brasier, right-hander Andre Jackson was designated for assignment.

Brasier, 35, was released by the Red Sox last month after going 1-0 with a 7.29 ERA in 20 games. He spent six years (2018-2023) in Boston, going 7-8 with a 4.55 ERA in 222 games. He signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers and threw two scoreless innings at Oklahoma City.

“I wasn’t pitching well [in Boston], and things need a little bit of a shake up,� Brasier said. “I get that it’s a business, It is what it is. I wanted to go somewhere with a winning culture and to have a chance to help a team win a World Series.�

Brasier was a sixth-round pick of the Angels in 2007 but didn’t reach the big leagues with them until 2012. He was released after 2014 and didn’t appear in the big leagues again until 2018, when he went 2-0 with a 1.60 ERA in 34 games for the Red Sox and gave up only one earned run in 8 ⅔ innings of nine postseason games.

The starting lineups for tonight’s Dodgers-Angels game:

Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia walks back to the dugout during a loss to the Washington Nationals on May 31.

(Harry How / Getty Images)

In their 66 years of playing baseball in Los Angeles, the Dodgers have never fielded a pitching staff with numbers this bad.

Not in their early Southern California years, when their makeshift home at the Coliseum measured just 250 feet to straightaway left.

Not in the doldrums of the 1990s and early 2000s, when the team failed to win a playoff game over a 15-year stretch.

Even Frank McCourt’s cash-strapped squads were able to maintain the franchise’s long-established legacy of pitching excellence, always remaining at least competitive on the mound.

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Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts could repeat this scene at the All-Star game.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

First baseman Freddie Freeman, right fielder Mookie Betts and designated hitter J.D. Martinez are the leading vote-getters at their positions, and catcher Will Smith ranks second behind Atlanta’s Sean Murphy in the latest update of National League All-Star Game balloting.

All four Dodgers are expected to advance to Phase 2 of balloting, with fans voting among the finalists at each position during a four-day window that begins next Monday. This year’s game will be held on July 11 in Seattle.

Double-A Tulsa manager Scott Hennessey announced on Tuesday that he will be taking a temporary leave of absence to begin treatments for Stage 3, curable squamous cell carcinoma.

According to the team, testing has revealed that the cancer has not spread beyond the initial area in his neck, and his long-term prognosis is “very good.�

Hennessey, who is in his sixth season as Drillers manager and 17th in the Dodgers organization, will undergo several weeks of chemotherapy treatments in either Tulsa or Los Angeles.

(Associated Press)

The novelty of the Freeway Series has worn off over 25 years of interleague play, but that doesn’t mean the Dodgers and Angels are looking at this week’s two-game series in Anaheim as just another two days on baseball’s grueling six-month calendar.

“It’s still a thing in the sense of it’s [two teams from] Southern California, it’s local, but I think it’s more geography-driven,� Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the rivalry, which resumes Tuesday night when Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw opposes Angels left-hander Reid Detmers.

“But as far as a rivalry … I mean, we’re in different leagues, different divisions. I enjoy going down there and playing the Angels, certainly. There’s kind of a mixed support group of Angels fans and Dodgers fans making the trek south, so it’s always lively.�

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Here’s a look at the Dodgers TV schedule for the remainder of the 2023 regular season. All times and broadcast/streaming options are subject to change.