Kenta Maeda and Dodgers are sharp early but Angels rally late to win Freeway Series opener
Dave Roberts made no attempt to conceal his grand plan for the Dodgers this season.
“Our expectations among ourselves,” the second-year manager said Thursday, “are to get to the World Series and win it.”
The Dodgers have an ace who is capable of leading them there in Clayton Kershaw and another potentially dominant left-hander in Rich Hill. Whether they have a championship-caliber rotation will hinge on the middle and back of their starting group, spots currently held by Kenta Maeda, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
If his abbreviated outing in Thursday night’s 3-2 exhibition loss in Angel Stadium is any indication, Maeda, the Japanese right-hander in his second season with the Dodgers, could be a difference-maker in 2017.
Maeda needed only 29 pitches, 23 of them strikes, to zip through three perfect innings in which he struck out four, including reigning American League most valuable player Mike Trout on three pitches, a fastball, changeup and slider. He struck out C.J. Cron with a nasty split-fingered pitch in the second.
“I think I’m better prepared now,” Maeda, who went 16-11 with a 3.48 earned-run average last season, said through an interpreter. “So I think I can have a better season than last year.”
Maeda, Ross Stripling and Luis Avilan combined to no-hit the Angels through six innings, but the Angels broke through off Brandon Morrow in the seventh when Yunel Escobar singled to center, Trout doubled off the wall in right, Albert Pujols walked, Cron lined a two-run single to left, and Cameron Maybin hit an RBI single to center.
Angels starter Yusmeiro Petit gave up two hits in two scoreless innings, and Blake Parker, Mike Morin and Austin Adams threw hitless relief innings.
The Dodgers scored an unearned run in the third when Enrique Hernandez reached on Escobar’s two-base throwing error and scored on Andrew Toles’ double to right-center.
Reserve catcher Austin Barnes trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with a solo homer to left off Angels left-hander Cody Ege in the ninth.
The Dodgers then threatened to tie or go ahead. They put runners on second and third when Franklin Gutierrez was hit by a pitch and DJ Peters doubled to left. But Angels reliever Justin Miller got Scott Van Slyke to ground to shortstop, ending the game.
The Angels announced in the second inning that Ricky Nolasco would start Monday night’s season opener in Oakland, a bit of a surprise considering Matt Shoemaker was in line to pitch Monday and Garrett Richards, who started the 2017 opener, is considered the team’s best pitcher.
“Coming into camp, there were a number of guys we looked at,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Considering how well Ricky is throwing the ball, how well he finished last year for us … I think Ricky will handle the opening day hoopla and go out there and give us a good chance to win.”
It will mark the fourth career opening day start for Nolasco, a 34-year-old right-hander from Corona who drew season-opening assignments for Miami in 2009 and 2013 and Minnesota in 2014.
“It’s a great honor, it means a lot,” Nolasco said. “I’m going to do everything I can to try to come home with a win.”
Shoemaker will start the second game, and Richards, who will face the Dodgers on Friday night, will start the third game. Tyler Skaggs is expected to start the fourth game, and Jesse Chavez will start the fifth.
The Angels announced after the game that reliever Huston Street, out since early March because of a muscle strain in his upper back, was examined by a doctor Thursday and cleared to resume throwing “in a couple of days,” Scioscia said.
Follow Mike DiGiovanna on Twitter @MikeDiGiovanna
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