Dodgers, still riding their wave, down Angels, 6-4

Amazing what a little confidence can do for a team.

If you’d been watching the Dodgers the past four months, you might not recognize the current incarnation. No doubt, they have become quiet believers in themselves. Not cocky, exactly, but certainly with a newfound swagger.

The Dodgers won their fifth consecutive game and 13th in their last 15 on another muggy night at Angel Stadium on Tuesday, jumping out to a lead and then holding on for a 6-4 victory over the Angels.

They are playing their best baseball since the start of the season and it’s pushed them to a season-high 22 games over .500 (80-58). Meanwhile, they maintained an 8 1/2-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

Of course, any team would feel a bit more confident if it was sending Clayton Kershaw to the mound.

Kershaw (13-6) continued his dominant stretch, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits in his seven innings. He struck out eight (corrected) and walked two. After throwing a season-high 132 pitches in his last gem against the Giants, he threw 106 on Tuesday.

That was still probably a few more than the Dodgers wanted, but he had to struggle through a seventh inning that saw the first two errors of Corey Seager’s career.

Since May 26, Kershaw has posted a 1.26 earned-run average in 19 starts. He reached the 200-inning mark for the fifth time in his career. In his last 11 starts he is 8-0 with a 0.93 ERA. Yep, he’s on a bit of a roll himself.

The Dodgers gave him an early 1-0 lead in the first when Justin Ruggiano led off the game with a home run off ex-Dodger Andrew Heaney. Kershaw, however, gave it right back when Kole Calhoun led off the bottom of the first the same way he had the previous night against Zack Greinke -- with a solo home run of his own.

The Dodgers regained the lead in the third on a run-scoring double by Ruggiano. To that point, he had a hit in five consecutive at-bats. He bounced out in the fifth.

The Dodgers pulled away with a four-run sixth. After Adrian Gonzalez walked and Scott Van Slyke singled, Seager’s ground-rule double scored Gonzalez. That ended the night for Heaney (6-3), though not the rally.

A.J. Ellis hit a tapper to third that David Freese had to charge. By the time he fielded it, he had to throw Ellis out at first, Van Slyke scoring the inning’s second run. Pinch-hitter Carl Crawford hit a bouncer to first baseman C.J. Cron, who decided to throw home to try to get Seager. A good throw probably would not have gotten him, but Cron’s was bad. It got away from catcher Chris Iannetta, who was charged with an error as Seager scored.

Crawford ended up at second and promptly stole third. That was good enough for him to score on a Chris Heisey sacrifice fly and the Dodgers were up 6-1.

The Angels scored their unearned run off Kershaw in the seventh -- Seager dropped two bouncers for errors -- and got another run on a pair of doubles off Pedro Baez to open the bottom of the ninth.

That sent a call for closer Kenley Jansen, who got the final three outs for his 31st save, but not until the Angels pushed across a final run.

Over two seasons, the Dodgers have now beaten the Angels eight consecutive times.