Hyun-Jin Ryu throws two-hitter in Dodgers 3-0 victory over Angels

Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu allowed just two hits and struck out seven in his first shutout and first complete game, a 3-0 victory over the Angels.

By Steve Dilbeck

May 28, 2013 12 AM PT

The lost, the really lost and newly discovered all coalesced for the Dodgers on Tuesday night in a tidy little 3-0 victory over the Angels.

If it lacked the dramatics of Monday’s come-from-behind victory, it was nonetheless important.

Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu, who last year was pitching professionally in South Korea, continued to look like the discovery of the year, throwing a two-hit shutout.

BOX SCORE: Dodgers 3, Angels 0

Struggling Matt Kemp, who Tuesday hit lower than fourth in the lineup for the first time since 2010 when he batted fifth, doubled and scored a run.

And Luis Cruz, mired in a dreadful season-long slump, powered a two-run homer. It was actually his first extra-base hit of the entire season.

The Dodgers used their 47th different lineup in 50 games to defeat the Angels -- who came in on an eight-game hitting streak -- for a second consecutive night.

The tone was set by Ryu, who was simply masterful in raising his record to 6-2.

Ryu allowed a second-inning single to Howie Kendrick and then retired 19 consecutive Angels before Chris Iannetta hit a two-out double in the eighth.

He struck out seven and did not walk a batter, facing only two batters over the 27 minimum. In his 11th career start, he picked up his first shutout and first complete game. The shutout took him just 113 pitches.

The Dodgers were being held at bay by former teammate Joe Blanton early on, the right-hander matching Ryu in zeroes for five innings.

But in the sixth Juan Uribe singled and Cruz drilled his two-run homer. For Cruz, who started the night hitting .105, it marked his first extra-base hit in 78 season at-bats. And it doubled his RBI total.

Kemp, who had struck out four times Monday and been booed a little louder by the Dodger Stadium crowd each time, doubled with one out in the sixth and scored on an A.J. Ellis single.

Blanton (1-8) went seven innings for the Angels, allowing the three runs on seven hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.