The Dodgers gets strong hitting and solid pitching to easily defeat the Angels.
Dodgers defeat Angels, 8-2
Angels: Fletcher grounded to second. Eaton grounded to second. Stassi struck out swinging.
Final score: Dodgers 8, Angels 2
We go to the ninth, Dodgers 8, Angels 2
Angels: Right-hander Kevin Quackenbush makes his Dodger debut. Stassi struck out looking. And there were Jumbo Jacks throughout the land! Gosselin singled to right. Iglesias singled to right. First and second, one out. Adell doubled to left, scoring Gosselin, Iglesias to third. And that’s it for Quackenbush. He is replaced by another person making his Dodger debut: left-hander Justin Bruihl. Marsh struck out swinging. Shohei Ohtani, batting for the pitcher, walked on six pitches. Mayfield grounded to the pitcher. Nice debut for Bruihl.
Dodgers: Eaton at first. Gosselin at third. Ohtani in at right. Right-hander Aaron Slegers now pitching for the Angels. Muncy flied to left. Pollock struck out swinging. Pujols flied to center.
Score after eight: Dodgers 8, Angels 2
Dodgers take 8-1 lead on Cody Bellinger’s homer
Angels: Right-hander Phil Bickford now pitching for the Dodgers. Mayfield struck out swinging. Fletcher grounded to third. Eaton flied to left.
Dodgers: Right-hander Mike Mayers now pitching for the Angels. Taylor singled to left. Smith fouled to second. Bellinger homered to right. It’s 8-1 Dodgers. Matt Beaty, batting for Bickford, grounded to short. T.Turner struck out swinging.
Score after seven: Dodgers 8, Angels 1
Dodgers extend lead to 6-1
Angels: Iglesias struck out swinging. Adell lined to right. Marsh walked on six pitches. Justin Upton, batting for Detmers, fouled to third.
Dodgers: Left-hander Packy Naughton now pitching for the Angels. No, I’m not making that name up. Billy McKinney, batting for Buehler, singled to left. T.Turner flied to left. Muncy grounded to the pitcher, McKinney to second. Some idiot fan decided to run onto the field. He was tackled pretty quickly and took a header into the right-field fence. AJ Pollock singled to left, scoring McKinney, with Pollock taking second on the throw home. Pujols was walked intentionally. Seager grounded to short.
Score after six: Dodgers 6, Angels 1
Still 5-1 Dodgers after five innings
Angels: Eaton struck out swinging. Gosselin struck out swinging. Gosselin grounded to third.
Dodgers: Seager flied to center. Taylor singled to right. Smith flied to center. Taylor stole second. Bellinger lined to center, with Eaton making a nice diving catch.
Score after five: Dodgers 5, Angels 1
Dodgers 5, Angels 1 after four innings
Angels: Adell doubled to left. Marsh walked on eight pitches. Detmers struck out attempting to bunt. Mayfield fouled to first. Fletcher struck out swinging.
Dodgers: T.Turner flied to left. Muncy was hit by a pitch. Pollock flied to center. Pujols grounded to the pitcher.
Score after four: Dodgers 5, Angels 1
It’s 5-1 Dodgers after three
Angels: Fletcher singled to center. Eaton flied to left. Stassi struck out swinging. Gosselin doubled to left, scoring Fletcher. Iglesias struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Smith flied to left. Bellinger flied to left. Buehler struck out swinging.
Score after three: Dodgers 5, Angels 1
Albert Pujols’ homer gives Dodgers a 5-0 lead after two innings
Angels: Jose Iglesias grounded to third. Jo Adell grounded to short. Brandon Marsh singled to right. Reid Detmers walked on six pitches. Jack Mayfield popped to first.
Dodgers: Walker Buehler grounded to second. T.Turner walked on five pitches. Muncy flied to center. Turner ran on the pitch and Pollock hit a slow roller that ticked off the shortstop’s glove into shallow left. Turner scored all the way from first. He is freaky fast. Albert Pujols, batting for J.Turner, homered to deep left. J.Turner apparently hurt himself making a long throw in the top of the inning. No idea how serious. Seager singled to center. Taylor struck out swinging.
Score after two: Dodgers 5, Angels 0
Dodgers take early 2-0 lead
Angels: Right-hander Walker Buehler pitching for the Dodgers. David Fletcher lined to center. Adam Eaton grounded to the pitcher. Max Stassi walked on eight pitches. Phil Gosselin struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Left-hander Reid Detmers pitching for the Angels. Trea Turner doubled to left. Max Muncy singled (against the shift) to left-center, scoring Turner. Just like that, it’s 1-0. AJ Pollock doubled to right, Muncy to third. Justin Turner grounded to short. Iglesias tried to throw Muncy out at home but the throw was high. Pollock stole third and J.Turner stole second. Corey Seager struck out swinging. Chris Taylor struck out swinging. Will Smith was walked intentionally. Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
Score after one: Dodgers 2, Angels 0
Mike Trout â€feeling better,’ but return date remains undecided
Almost 12 weeks since Mike Trout suffered a right calf strain, the Angels still don’t have a return date in mind for the three-time MVP.
“He’s doing a lot of work with the trainers,” manager Joe Maddon said Sunday. “I just talked to him yesterday. He said in a very upbeat way, â€I’m feeling better.’ So he’s going to continue to do a lot of stuff with our training staff.”
The Angels have been echoing a similar message the last several weeks, as Trout’s absence has stretched ever-further past an initial six-to-eight-week timeframe.
After he had begun more on-field activities last month -- including outfield drills, baserunning and batting practice -- Trout has since returned to doing mostly behind-the-scenes work with the Angels’ training staff the past several weeks.
“I don’t know to what extent he’s doing baseball activity,” Maddon said. “I’m sure he’s sneaking into the cage, doing things like that. For the most part, he is feeling better. And he’ll continue to work more on the kind of stuff that you’re not going to see, to continue to strengthen that [calf] and test it in their way, whatever the method is our staff wants him to test it.”
Maddon said that for as difficult as the physical rehab has been for Trout, there’s a mental component to his recovery process too. While recent doctor visits have all returned good news on the progress of his calf injury, Maddon said, “it’s still up to you, the athlete, to push it to the point where you feel comfortable.
“You have to get to that point where you do something without thinking about it. And that sometimes takes a while. You don’t want to go back after all this good rehab. You don’t want to go backward, especially right now. And that’s always in your mind.”
Trout, who turned 30 on Saturday, has played just 36 games this season and will still require a minor-league rehab assignment before he returns to the Angels lineup.
“This is such an individual thing,” Maddon said. “Everybody feels differently. And like I said, he’s doing better, the doctors like the healing process. But we’re still not at the point we can tell you he’s going to go out and play some minor-league baseball.”
Short hops
-Maddon said the Angels hope first baseman Jared Walsh (right intercostal strain) will return sometime during this week’s series against the Toronto Blue Jays, perhaps as soon as Tuesday’s double-header. Walsh ran the bases and did other rehab drills before Sunday’s game.
-The Angels made a roster move in the bullpen Sunday, recalling Aaron Slegers and optioning Andrew Wantz back to triple-A.
Albert Pujols sits in Dodgers’ series finale vs. Angels
When the Dodgers signed Albert Pujols, their lineup was depleted. Cody Bellinger, AJ Pollock and Corey Seager all were on the injured list. All three are back now, and the Dodgers have imported Trea Turner too.
The Dodgers told Pujols his role would consist primarily of starting at first base against left-handed pitchers, and pinch-hitting. And, with the roster fortified, Pujols is not starting against a left-handed pitcher Sunday, for the first time since joining the Dodgers.
Mookie Betts, fighting the hip irritation that has hampered him all season, has what manager Dave Roberts said was a scheduled day off.
The Dodgers’ lineup against Angels rookie left-hander Reid Detmers:
Trea Turner, 2b
Max Muncy, 1b
AJ Pollock. lf
Justin Turner, 3b
Corey Seager, ss
Chris Taylor, cf
Will Smith, c
Cody Bellinger, rf
Walker Buehler, p
The Dodgers plan to activate right-handed reliever Corey Knebel on Tuesday, manager Dave Roberts said. He said infielder Gavin Lux is on his way to triple-A Oklahoma City to start a minor league rehabilitation assigment.
The Dodgers put left-handed reliever Garrett Cleavinger on the injured list because of an oblique strain and called up left-handed reliever Justin Bruihl, originally signed from Cal Poly SLO as a non-drafted free agent.
Bruihl, 24, has struck out 20 and walked three in 15 innings at Oklahoma City. If he gets into a game, he would make his major league debut and would become the 31st man to pitch for the Dodgers this season.
Trea Turner makes first start for Dodgers, contributes in win over Angels
Dave Roberts had some decisions to make before finalizing his lineup card Saturday afternoon.
For the first time since the Dodgers acquired him at the trade deadline, infielder Trea Turner was ready to start a game.
While playing for the Washington Nationals this season, the first-time All-Star usually hit first or second — where Mookie Betts and Max Muncy bat for the Dodgers. Turner is also a natural shortstop, the same position held by Corey Seager.
So, the Dodgers manager did his best to keep everyone happy. Turner was the leadoff hitter, with Betts — who still is battling a nagging condition in his right hip — batting third and Justin Turner moving to fifth. Seager remained at shortstop, pushing Trea Turner over to second.
Highlights from the Dodgers’ 5-3 comeback win over the Angels on Saturday night.
“These are good problems, certainly,” Roberts said before the game. “I think it just speaks to the talent.”
In a 5-3 win against the Angels, the depth of that talent was on display.
Seven of the Dodgers’ eight position players got a hit. Starter Julio UrĂas gave up three runs (two earned) in five innings despite battling a high pitch count. And the bullpen blanked the Angels down the stretch, ensuring Chris Taylor’s tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth was enough to even this weekend’s Freeway Series.
Trea Turner helped open the scoring in the first inning, drawing a leadoff walk before racing home on a double in the next at-bat by Muncy, who later scored on a Seager single to make it 2-0. Turner also singled and stole a base in his first game with the team. And defensively, he shined at second.
“A few big, game-changing plays he made look pretty effortlessly,” Roberts said after the game. “Our fans on a night-in, night-out basis are going to really be in for a treat.”
It was a return to normality for Turner, who before the game relived a whirlwind trade deadline week that included a positive COVID-19 test — which had kept him out until Friday — and nonstop rumors about whether the Nationals would trade him.
“I would go back and forth: â€Oh, they’re not going to trade me. Oh, yup they are,’” he said. “Social media, you read all these things, talking to my agents, you just have to be prepared for whatever.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says recently acquired Trea Turner will start against the Angels and spend the rest of this season as the team’s primary second baseman.
Turner said he would have loved to stay with the Nationals, for whom he had played all seven seasons of his big league career, and that he also would have been open to signing a long-term extension with the team before becoming a free agent after next season. But after the club didn’t make him an offer before the deadline, then dealt him along with Max Scherzer to the Dodgers, Turner said he was excited about the new chapter that’s ahead.
“To be traded to a great organization, an organization that is trying to win championships, is always a good thing,” Turner said, adding: “You look up and down the lineup and you’ve got All-Stars, you’ve got MVPs, you’ve got guys that have done it in the postseason. So you just try to slot in where you can and contribute where you can.”
Clayton Kershaw said Friday he doesn’t expect to pitch for the Dodgers until early September because of elbow inflamation. He has been out since July 7.
On Saturday, almost everyone in the lineup chipped in.
After the Angels (56-55) took the lead with three runs in the third inning — José Iglesias hit an RBI double, Phil Gosselin produced an RBI single and Muncy dropped a two-out, infield popup that allowed Gosselin to race home — the Dodgers (66-45) began to storm back in the seventh.
Cody Bellinger hit a game-tying home run to lead off the inning, chasing Angels starter Jaime Barria from the game after six-plus innings. Then, against reliever Junior Guerra in the eighth, Seager and Will Smith got aboard with singles before Taylor drove them both home with a double into the left-center-field gap.
The Dodgers bullpen came up clutch, as well.
Alex Vesia and Phil Bickford pitched stress-free innings in the sixth and seventh, respectively.
Brusdar Graterol got in a two-on, one-out jam in the eighth but escaped by striking out pinch-hitting Shohei Ohtani with a 101.5-mph fastball.
And Kenley Jansen got the save in the ninth, retiring the side in order to keep the Dodgers four games behind the San Francisco Giants — who also won Saturday — in the National League West standings.
“Top to bottom, you got guys,” Taylor said. “Now it’s our job to do what we should. It’s going to be fun playing with these guys every day. Hopefully we can continue to play good baseball.”
Dodgers defeat the Angels, 5-3
Angels: Right-hander Kenley Jansen now pitching for the Dodgers. Mayfield struck out swinging. Upton flied to center. Fletcher popped to second.
Final score: Dodgers 5, Angels 3
Dodgers take 5-3 lead in bottom of eighth on Chris Taylor’s double
Angels: Right-hander Brusdar Graterol now pitching for the Dodgers. Gosselin struck out looking. Suzuki singled to right-center. Adell singled to right. First and second, one out. Marsh flied to right. Shohei Ohtani, batting for the pitcher, struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Right-hander Junior Guerra now pitching for the Angels. Seager singled. J.Turner struck out swinging. Smith singled to left, Seager to second. Taylor doubled to left-center, scoring Seager and Smith. Left-hander Jose Quintana now pitching for the Angels. Bellinger grounded to first, Taylor to third. AJ Pollock, batting for Graterol, flied to right.
Score after eight: Dodgers 5, Angels 3
Cody Bellinger’s homer ties it for Dodgers
Angels: Right-hander Phil Bickford now pitching for the Dodgers. Upton struck out swinging. Fletcher lined to center. Iglesias grounded to second.
Dodgers: Bellinger homered to right, estimated at 390 feet. Matt Beaty hit for Bickford. Left-hander Jose Quijada now pitching for the Angels. Albert Pujols hit for Beaty and struck out swinging. T.Turner grounded to second. Muncy was hit by a pitch. Betts popped to short.
Score after seven: Dodgers 3, Angels 3
Dodgers trail Angels 3-2 after six innings
Angels: Left-hander Alex Vesia now pitching for the Dodgers. Marsh struck out looking. Barria struck out looking. Mayfield struck out swinging.
Dodgers: J.Turner popped to first. Smith flied to center. Taylor grounded to short.
Score after six: Angels 3, Dodgers 2
Angels lead 3-2 after five innings
Angels: Fletcher grounded to short. Iglesias walked on eight pitches. Gosselin flied to right. Suzuki singled to right, Iglesias to third. Adell grounded to second.
Dodgers: T.Turner singled to right, his first hit as a Dodger. Muncy flied to center. Turner stole second. Betts struck out swinging. Seager grounded to second.
Score after five: Angels 3, Dodgers 2
Angels 3, Dodgers 2 after four
Angels: Barria struck out looking. Mayfield bunted for a hit. Upton grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
Dodgers: J.Turner grounded to short. Smith walked on six pitches. Taylor hit a fly ball that landed just inside the right-field line. Adell grabbed it and tumbled over the fence, landing on his feet. Because he went into the stands with the ball, Taylor gets a ground-rule double. Second and third, one out. Bellinger fouled to first. UrĂas his a shot down the right-field line but Gosselin at first knocked it down and beat him to the bag. Nice play.
Score after four: Angels 3, Dodgers 2
Sloppy play by Dodgers gives Angels a 3-2 lead in the third
Angels: Upton struck out swinging. Fletcher doubled to center. Iglesias doubled to left, Fletcher scoring. Gosselin singled to center, Iglesias scoring, Gosselin taking second on the throw home. Suzuki lined to short. Adell hit a pop up just next to the pitcher’s mound. No one really took charge and Muncy ran in at the last minute and missed it, Gosselin scoring, Adell to second. Marsh struck out swinging.
Dodgers: T.Turner flied to left. Muncy grounded to first. Betts singled to left. Seager struck out swinging.
Score after three: Angels 3, Dodgers 2
It’s 2-0 Dodgers after two
Angels: Jo Adell walked on eight pitches. Brandon Marsh flied to left. Jaime Barria struck out attempting to bunt. Jack Mayfield grounded to third.
Dodgers: Chris Taylor struck out swinging. Cody Bellinger grounded to second. Julio UrĂas struck out swinging.
Score after two: Dodgers 2, Angels 0
Trea Turner helps Dodgers take 2-0 lead after one
Angels: Left-hander Julio UrĂas pitching for the Dodgers. Justin Upton walked on nine pitches. David Fletcher singled to center, Upton to second. Jose Iglesias flied to right. Phil Gosselin flied to left. Kurt Suzuki struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Right-hander Jaime Barria pitching for the Angels. Trea Turner walked on six pitches. Max Muncy doubled to left-center, Turner scoring from first. He can fly. Mookie Betts flied to deep right-center, Muncy to third. With the infield in and the shift on, Corey Seager singled through the gaping hole on the left side of the infield, scoring Muncy. Justin Turner popped to second. Will Smith struck out swinging.
Score after one: Dodgers 2, Angels 0
Trea Turner excited to be in L.A., bats leadoff in first Dodgers start Saturday
Leading up to last week’s trade deadline, Trea Turner wasn’t feeling great. In body or in mind.
On July 28, the All-Star infielder tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to leave in the middle of a game with the Washington Nationals.
And as he spent the next 48 hours in self-isolation, he also didn’t know whether he would be traded before the July 30 deadline, his gut instinct seemingly changing with every new tweet that mentioned his name.
“I would go back and forth: â€Oh, they’re not going to trade me. Oh, yup they are,’ ” he said. “Social media, you read all these things, talking to my agents, you just have to be prepared for whatever.”
Turner, of course, did get traded, going to the Dodgers along with pitcher Max Scherzer in a blockbuster deal. And when he spoke to reporters for the first time since then Saturday, after making his Dodgers debut as a pinch-hitter the day before, all those pre-deadline dilemmas were gone.
Clayton Kershaw said Friday he doesn’t expect to pitch for the Dodgers until early September because of elbow inflamation. He has been out since July 7.
He said he was healthy, happy and hungry to help the Dodgers defend their World Series title.
“I feel better now health-wise, so I feel like I got lucky and good there,” he said. “Then to be traded to a great organization, an organization that is trying to win championships, is always a good thing. I’m excited for the opportunity to help compete here and help play, help these guys accomplish what all of us want to do.”
Turner was in the Dodgers’ starting lineup for the first time Saturday night, batting leadoff and playing second base in their Freeway Series matchup against the Angels at Dodger Stadium.
After Turner hit .322 with 18 home runs and 21 stolen bases with the Nationals, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he believes the 28-year-old’s all-around skill set fits best at the top of the batting order — especially with usual leadoff hitter Mookie Betts battling a hip injury that has limited him on the basepaths.
On Saturday, Betts instead batted third and Justin Turner was bumped to fifth.
“There’s really no way to put it together that doesn’t look right,” Roberts said. “For me, both [Betts and Trea Turner] felt being in a certain part of the order with consistency was important to them. Trea has hit a lot at the top of the order, and to be able to utilize his speed at the top to create havoc on the bases … I felt really good about that.”
Second base will also likely be Trea Turner’s new spot in the field moving forward, with Corey Seager occupying Turner’s natural position at shortstop.
“I felt pretty early on the move was to go to second base,” Turner said. “I’m just trying to fit in here. You look up and down the lineup and you’ve got All-Stars, you’ve got MVPs, you’ve got guys that have done it in the postseason. So you just try to slot in where you can and contribute where you can.”
José Iglesias hit a go-ahead double in the 10th after homering earlier, and the Angels won 4-3 to drop the Dodgers to 1-12 in extra-inning games this season.
Turner said Saturday that he would have loved to stay with the Nationals, for whom he had spent all seven seasons of his big league career, and that he also would have been open to signing a long-term extension with the team before becoming a free agent after next season.
But he said the club didn’t make him an offer before the deadline.
Following the trade, Washington president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo indicated that Turner and his representatives told the Nationals they wanted to wait and see what happened with this offseason’s class of free-agent shortstops before beginning extension talks.
But Turner disputed that account Saturday.
“The last two or three years, I’ve been pretty honest,” he said. “I said I would talk about an extension whenever and waited for that to happen. It didn’t happen. I’ve been told a lot of things over the last two years. For me, actions speak louder than words.”
Then Turner changed the topic.
“That’s in the past now. It’s over with,” he said. “I’m excited to start a new chapter.”
His new team is thrilled to have him.
“Managing against him, it seemed like he was always looming,” Roberts said, calling Turner a “nightmare” to game plan against. “That just creates tension to the other side. So I’m happy he’s with us now.”
Fernando Valenzuela made two starts with the Angels in 1991. And while he didn’t pitch well, he proved to himself he still belonged in the majors.
Betts’ bothersome hip
Roberts said there will be “constant conversation” between Betts and the team’s training staff regarding his bothersome right hip, which forced the right fielder to exit Friday night’s game early. Roberts added that the former MVP will be “playing with a governor” in the outfield and on the bases.
“I don’t believe just resting it will help anything,” Roberts said. “I think all of it is just managing it.”
Roberts said Betts will have a scheduled off day Sunday and could occasionally play at second base moving forward on days in which Seager or Turner are off.
Short hops
— Newly signed Dodgers pitcher Cole Hamels pitched one inning in a simulated game Saturday. Roberts said Hamels will likely need to get stretched out to at least five innings before the team would consider activating him.
— The Dodgers selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Kevin Quackenbush and placed left-hander Darien Núñez on the injured list.
Trea Turner is â€a pretty special player’
Trea Turner paced the length of the Dodgers dugout a few times in the eighth inning Friday night, the team’s newest addition looking somewhat anxious in a tie game between the Dodgers and Angels.
Turner, the infielder who was acquired from the Washington Nationals with pitcher Max Scherzer on July 30, had cleared COVID-19 protocols and was added to the active roster about an hour before the game.
He did not start, but with the pitcher’s spot in the batting order nearing and reserves Billy McKinney and Cody Bellinger having already been used, it was clear that Turner was about to make his Dodgers debut and take his first at-bat in a game in 10 days — a tall task for even a player of his All-Star stature.
“I think he was antsy most of the night,” Dave Roberts said. “He’s a very intelligent ballplayer, so when you start seeing how the game is playing out, there were a couple opportunities early, from the sixth inning on, where we might have gone to him.
“So he was trying to stay in tune with me and Bob [Geren, Dodgers bench coach] and be ready when called upon.”
Angels defeat Dodgers, 4-3
Angels: Adell the runner at second. Left-hander Garrett Cleavinger now pitching for the Dodgers. Iglesias doubled to right, scoring Adell. Shohei Ohtani, batting for the pitcher, was walked intentionally. Marsh grounded to short, advancing the runners. That’s it for Cleavinger. Right-hander Brusdar Graterol is not pitching. Mayfield hit a pop fly in the death valley between Muncy and Bellinger. It ticked off Muncy’s glove for a single, scoring Iglesias. First and third, one out. The Angels tried a double steal. Mayfield got caught in a rundown and Ohtani tried to score from third, but Pujols made a perfect throw home to nail him. Fletcher grounded to the pitcher.
Dodgers: J. Turner the runner at second. Right-hander Raisel Iglesias now pitching for the Angels. Muncy singled to right, Turner to third. Pujols struck out swinging at a pitch way outside. Seager flied to deep left-center, scoring Turner. Taylor singled to center, Muncy to second. Pollock grounded to third.
Final score: Angels 4, Dodgers 3
We go to extra innings
Angels: Smith catching. Right-hander Kenley Jansen now pitching for the Dodgers. Upton grounded to third. Stassi struck out swinging. Adell struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Trea Turner, batting for Jansen, fouled to the catcher. Bellinger fouled to the catcher. Turner flied to right. Will the Dodgers fall to 1-12 in extra-inning games?
Score after nine: Dodgers 2, Angels 2
We go to the ninth, 2-2
Angels: Marsh struck out swinging. Mayfield walked. Mayfield stole second. Fletcher popped to second. Gosselin struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Seager flied to center. Taylor popped to first. Pollock singled to left. Will Smith, batting for Barnes, flied to left.
Score after eight: Dodgers 2, Angels 2
We go to the eighth, 2-2
Angels: McKinney in right. Right-hander Joe Kelly now pitching for the Dodgers. Stassi grounded to second. Kelly stabbed at it and it deflected off his bare hand. Hit his fingertips. Adell struck out swinging. Iglesias walked on 10 pitches. Time for a double switch. Cody Bellinger comes in to right to replace McKinney, and right-hander Blake Treinen in to pitch. Lagares grounded to second.
Dodgers: Brandon Marsh in center. Left-hander Sam Selman now pitching for the Angels. Bellinger singled to right. Turner grounded to second, forcing Bellinger. Muncy struck out looking. With Albert Pujols coming to the plate, the Angels switch to a right-handed pitcher, Austin Warren. Pujols grounded to third.
Score after seven: Dodgers 2, Angels 2
Angels tie it at 2-2 in top of sixth
Angels: Adam Eaton, batting for Sandoval, grounded to first. Mayfield homered to center. It’s 2-2. Fletcher singled up the middle. And that’s it for Price, right-hander Phil Bickford now pitching for the Dodgers. Fletcher stole second and took third on Barnes’ throwing error. Need a strikeout now. Gosselin struck out swinging. Upton struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Right-hander Jose Quijada now pitching for the Angels. Pollock flied to shallow center and Lagares made a nice lunging catch for the out. Barnes popped to second. Billy McKinney, batting for Bickford, struck out swinging.
Score after six: Dodgers 2, Angels 2
Angels pull within 2-1 after five innings
Angels: Stassi flied to right. Adell lined to third. Iglesias homered to left-center. It’s 2-1 Dodgers. Lagares singled to center. Lagares was caught stealing. It looked like Lagares was sliding in slow motion.
Dodgers: Muncy doubled to right. Pujols grounded to short, Muncy to third. Seager grounded to second (with the infield in, Muncy couldn’t score). Taylor struck out looking.
Score after five: Dodgers 2, Angels 1
Dodgers take 2-0 lead on Mookie Betts’ single
Angels: Fletcher hit a ground-rule double to left-center. Gosselin grounded to third. Fletcher, for some bizarre reason, faked a delayed steal and was easily thrown out when he went back to second. Barnes made a perfect throw. Upton struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Taylor flied to left. Pollock walked on five pitches. Barnes flied to right. Price singled to right. Betts singled to left, Pollock scoring, Price to second. Turner flied to right.
Score after four: Dodgers 2, Angels 0
Still 1-0 Dodgers after three innings
Angels: Juan Lagares popped to short. Patrick Sandoval struck out looking. Jack Mayfield grounded to third.
Dodgers: Betts grounded to first. Turner walked on six pitches. Muncy flied to left. Pujols singled to right, Turner to second. Seager popped to third.
Score after three: Dodgers 1, Angels 0
It’s 1-0 Dodgers after two innings
Angels: Max Stassi struck out looking. Jo Adell struck out looking. Jose Iglesias flied to center.
Dodgers: Chris Taylor struck out swinging. AJ Pollock struck out swinging. Austin Barnes hit a hard hopper to second that deflected off Fletcher’s glove for a hit. David Price grounded to second.
Score after two: Dodgers 1, Angels 0
Dexter Fowler continues rehab with Angels
Almost four months after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament, torn medial meniscus and strained medial collateral ligament in his left knee during a game in early April against the Toronto Blue Jays, Angels outfielder Dexter Fowler has returned to the Angels this week to continue his rehabilitation process.
Fowler said he is ahead of schedule in his recovery from his knee injury and believes he could be medically cleared to return as soon as mid-October.
“I miss baseball,” Fowler said. “It’s been an adjustment. Rehab is baseball for me now.”
After undergoing surgery, Fowler spent the early stages of his rehab back home in Las Vegas with his family. But he said he has progressed to the point now where he is able to be back around the Angels.
“I’m not on the crutches,” he said. “I’m doing weight stuff. It’s that progression, that point in my rehab.”
Fowler, a 35-year-old who was in his 14th major league season and will be a free agent this coming winter, said he still plans to come back and play next year.
“It’s my first major injury,” he said. “My body still feels like I can play for three or four more years. The doc that looked at my knees actually said: â€It’s hard to believe you played for 13 years. This is the only thing in your knee that’s bad.’ ”
Away from the field, Fowler made an appearance last month as a guest baseball analyst for Fox Sports — though he reiterated it didn’t mean he was thinking about walking away from the game.
“I don’t want to get that perception out there that I’m done playing,” he said, laughing. “But that was fun. I enjoyed myself. It was a one-time thing. Maybe something when I’m done.”
Short hops
— Angels manager Joe Maddon said it’s “not impossible” for first baseman Jared Walsh to return from the injured list for the Angels this weekend. Walsh has been out since July 27 because of a right intercostal strain but has been able to begin taking swings again and do agility drills on the field.
— Maddon reiterated that the team still doesn’t plan to use Shohei Ohtani as an outfielder during this weekend’s National League series. He said Ohtani probably wouldn’t object to playing in the field, with his normal designated hitter spot unavailable, but that it remains outside of the team’s comfort zone with him. Maddon also said he believed Ohtani could benefit from getting a break this weekend after playing in 106 of the Angels’ 109 games so far this year.
— The Angels recalled reliever Andrew Wantz on Friday and put Steve Cishek on the bereavement list.
It’s 1-0 Dodgers after one inning
Angels: Left-hander David Price pitching for the Dodgers. David Fletcher grounded to second. Phil Gosselin grounded to second. Justin Upton grounded to third.
Dodgers: Left-hander Patrick Sandoval pitching for the Angels. Mookie Betts singled to center. Justin Turner doubled to right, Betts to third. Turner barely beat the throw. And it looked like Betts was limping into third. Max Muncy struck out swinging. Albert Pujols grounded to third, scoring Betts, who is grimacing in pain as he crosses the plate. Corey Seager fouled to third.
Score after one: Dodgers 1, Angels 0
Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw unlikely to return from elbow injury until September
Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who has been out since July 7 because of elbow inflammation, acknowledged Friday that he will not be able to return until early September.
The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner threw a three-inning, 45-pitch simulated game before a July 27 game in San Francisco, but he was unable to throw a scheduled four-inning, 60-pitch simulated game last Sunday.
“Basically, I just tried to come back too fast, which is a bummer,” Kershaw, who is 9-7 with a 3.39 ERA in 18 starts, said before Friday night’s game. “After the sim game, it really didn’t respond well. It’s frustrating. It’s still nothing serious, but it’s something that’s going to take a little time.
“It’s no fun being hurt. It’s miserable. I really don’t enjoy it at all, especially with what’s going on here. I want to be part of the stretch run so bad, so I’m going to do everything I can do to get back, and I think I will be. But it’s definitely looking more like September than August.”
Kershaw, who is partnering with the LA Dream Center to hand out 2,500 backpacks and school supplies at his foundation’s annual back-to-school bash Saturday, said he hopes to resume playing catch “soon.” He will need several weeks to build up enough arm strength to return to the rotation.
Manager Dave Roberts said several MRI tests on Kershaw’s elbow have been “clean” and that he’s just waiting for the soreness to dissipate.
“I was probably a little too impatient with my rehab — that’s on me,” Kershaw said. “I wanted to be back. I wanted to pitch. This time, it’s a little different because we’re up against the calendar.
“There’s only so much you can rest before you go. We’re gonna rest as long as we can to give myself the best chance to pitch some meaningful games in September and be ready to go in October.”
Trea Turner activated for Friday’s game, will be Dodgers’ primary second baseman
New Dodgers infielder Trea Turner cleared COVID-19 protocols and was added to the active roster about an hour before Friday night’s game against the Angels.
Turner, acquired from the Washington Nationals with pitcher Max Scherzer on July 30, has played shortstop for the last five years, and the Dodgers consider him a “premium” defender there.
But manager Dave Roberts said Turner will be the team’s primary second baseman while filling in occasionally for shortstop Corey Seager, the reigning World Series and National League Championship Series most valuable player. Turner was available off the bench Friday night and will start Saturday night.
“He embraced it,” Roberts said of Turner, who played center field and second base early in his career. “Obviously, his choice is shortstop. He sees himself as a shortstop, as he should. But understanding our roster, second base certainly made sense for him, and he understands it gives us the best chance to win.”
After the trade-deadline deal, Roberts said he wanted to speak with Turner and “look him in the eye” before making any lineup decisions. That conversation took place with Andrew Friedman, the team’s vice president of operations, on Friday.
“Basically, we asked him his preference on the defensive side, knowing that we view him as premier shortstop and a superstar player,” Roberts said. “But we value Corey at shortstop, and Trea’s potential versatility with his athleticism allows for a couple of things.
“His preference was to stay on the dirt, which makes sense to me. I want to make sure Trea is comfortable. This is something different for him, as far as the trade. Getting him comfortable is really important for him and the Dodgers.”
The addition of the speedy Turner, who is batting .322 with an .890 OBP, 18 homers, 49 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in 96 games, moved Mookie Betts from second base, where he started the three previous games, back to right field.
Super utility player Chris Taylor, who has played shortstop and second base, will split his time between center field and left field while occasionally spelling Justin at third base.
The player who stands to lose the most playing time is slumping center fielder Cody Bellinger, the 2019 NL most valuable player who will now assume more of a platoon role, starting mostly against right-handers. Left fielder AJ Pollock might lose some at-bats as well.
“Every single night, there’s gonna be a great player who is not getting the start — that’s just where we’re at,” Roberts said. “But right now, we have to win games. We’re four games back [in the division], and we have to win. I need to put the best guys out there every night who I feel can win a ballgame.”
To make room on the 26-man roster for Turner, left-handed reliever Victor Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day injured list because of right-knee inflammation. The Dodgers also announced that reliever Jimmy Nelson will undergo season-ending elbow surgery to repair a flexor tendon tear.
Dodgers vs. Angels betting odds for Friday
The Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers both enter their intra-city series having won three of their last four games. It will be a battle of youth versus experience in Friday night’s pitching matchup.
Five-time All-Star David Price will make his eighth start of the season for the Dodgers after beginning the year in bullpen. Despite a 3.47 earned-run average and just two home runs surrendered, the team is 2-5 in his starts. He has thrown more than 4 1/3 innings just once this season and has given up seven runs across 10 innings in his last two starts.
Angels starter Patrick Sandoval enters in great form, including a start against the Minnesota Twins on July 24 in which he took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning. In Sandoval’s five road starts, the Angels are 3-2 with Sandoval surrendering three runs or fewer in every start, posting a 2.27 ERA while allowing 2.6 walks per nine innings and one home run across 31 1/3 innings.
The Dodgers and Angels have similar bullpen ERAs the last 30 days, with a 4.48 for the Angels and a 4.50 for the Dodgers, though the Angels are scoring the second-fewest runs per game among American League teams during that span.
The Dodgers have played six of the last eight games Price has pitched in under the total, while the Angels have played 12 of their last 17 games under the total with a 5-1 record in their last six road games.
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Dodgers’ Albert Pujols to bat cleanup against Angels team that released him
Albert Pujols will start at first base and bat cleanup against the team that designated him for assignment May 6 when the Dodgers play host to the Angels in the first game of the Freeway Series at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.
If the Dodgers slugger has any hard feelings toward the Angels, the team he played nine-plus seasons for after singing a 10-year, $240-million contract with them before 2012, he hid them well.
Pujols exchanged hugs with Angels general manager Perry Minasian, the man who let him go, behind the batting cage as well as many of his former teammates, including Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.
Pujols, 41, signed a major league deal with the Dodgers on May 17 and has provided a productive and clutch right-handed bat, mostly against left-handed pitching.
He enters Friday night’s game against Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval (3-5, 3.38 ERA) with a .268 batting average, .775 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, eight homers and 29 RBIs in 52 games for the Dodgers. Left-hander David Price (4-1, 3.55 ERA) will start for the Dodgers.
DODGERS LINEUP: RF Mookie Betts, 3B Justin Turner, 2B Max Muncy, 1B Albert Pujols, SS Corey Seager, CF Chris Taylor, LF AJ Pollock, C Austin Barnes, LHP David Price.
ANGELS LINEUP: 2B David Fletcher, 1B Phil Gosselin, LF Justin Upton, C Max Stassi, RF Jo Adell, SS Jose Iglesias, CF Juan Lagares, LHP Patrick Sandoval, 3B Jack Mayfield.
Remember when Fernando Valenzuela pitched for the Angels?
Almost 50,000 fans filled Anaheim Stadium. Reporters and photographers prowled the field, positioning themselves for the grand entrance of the night’s returning hero.
In 60 years of Angels baseball, few moments have been so heavily anticipated, so fervently awaited.
He may have been past his prime. A star in decline. A former Dodger of all things.
But Fernando Valenzuela was still Fernando Valenzuela. And on June 7, 1991, he received one of the most raucous welcomes the Angels had ever seen.
“It was really strange being with another team, for the first time in my career,” Valenzuela said in a recent interview. “There was a lot of expectation for what I was going to do.”
Trevor Bauer’s administrative leave is extended another week
Trevor Bauer will stay away from the Dodgers through at least Aug. 13, as Major League Baseball and the players’ union agreed Thursday on a fourth extension of his administrative leave.
Bauer remains under investigation for sexual assault. A court hearing on whether to extend or terminate the temporary restraining order against him is scheduled Aug. 16-19.
The woman accusing him is expected to testify for about two hours, according to a court filing from the attorneys representing her.
Fans start an instant love affair with pitcher Max Scherzer
Full house, cheating Astros, desperate Dodgers.
Mad Max was riding Fury Road.
Tattered rotation, stalled season, savior needed.
Mad Max needed to take it Beyond Thunderdome.
“He’s definitely built for this,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
He definitely is, and he definitely showed it, Max Scherzer towering over Chavez Ravine on Wednesday night in a Dodgers debut that lived up to every syllable of his nickname.
It was mad. And he was Max.