All-around bad day for Dodgers, capped by 3-2 loss to Angels

The Dodgers started the day by placing Matt Kemp on the disabled list and shelving A.J. Ellis with a sore side amid growing concern over nerve problems in the pitching hand of Josh Beckett.

Nowhere to go but up? Come on, these are your 2013 Dodgers.

They went and lost to the Angels, 3-2, despite a nice start by Ted Lilly and because of a somewhat bizarre sixth inning that produced the winning run.

BOX SCORE: Angels 3, Dodgers 2

The Dodgers actually jumped in front of the Angels with a run in the first inning after Carl Crawford led off the game with a triple into the right-field corner and scored on an Adrian Gonzalez sacrifice fly.

The Angels tied the score in the second inning when Chris Iannetta had a run-scoring double and took the lead in the fourth when Howie Kendrick tripled and scored on Alberto Callaspo’s single.

The Dodgers tied the score with one swing in the fifth inning when Ramon Hernandez, who started the night at designated hitter despite batting .111, jumped on a Jason Vargas fastball for a solo home run. It was his second homer of the season.

But then came the Angels’ slightly otherworldly sixth inning.

Kendrick started it innocently enough with a one-out double. Lilly struck out Callaspo, but after Kendrick stole third, Iannetta survived a nine-pitch at-bat to draw a walk.

The Dodgers then went to reliever Ronald Belisario. The right-hander got Chris Nelson to hit a comebacker, but the ball was deflected off Belisario’s glove. If he doesn’t slow it down, Mark Ellis has an easy out at second. Instead it rolled slowly to Ellis for an infield hit as Kendrick scored the go-ahead run.

The inning almost became really ugly for the Dodgers when J.B. Shuck hit a dribbler up the first-base line that Belisario fielded, and with his back to the base, tried to flip the ball with a behind-the-back toss to Gonzalez at first. Not his best idea.

Not surprisingly, the ball went well wide of first. Only the hustling Ellis rushing to back up the play stopped another run from scoring. Erick Aybar grounded out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Lilly (0-2) was charged with the three runs in his 5 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Vargas, after starting the year 0-3, picked up his fifth consecutive victory. He went seven strong innings, giving up the two runs on five hits and a pair of walks. He struck out six.