Final: Dodgers blow out Angels 7-1 as teams enter break on opposite trajectories
The Southland’s two major-league teams couldn’t be heading more opposite directions.
With a 7-1 win over the Angels on Saturday, the Dodgers enter the All-Star break at 60-30 (the fifth time in franchise history they’ve won 60 by the break), holding a 9.5-game lead in the NL West, and having won 20 of their final 25 games during the first half of the season.
With their second consecutive blowout loss in the Freeway Series, the Angels hit the halfway point at 39-53, sitting 10 games adrift in the American League wild card standings, and facing a host of questions about what they will do leading up to next month’s trade deadline.
If the gulf between the two teams wasn’t apparent before, the 16-2 aggregate score in this weekend’s sweep put an exclamation point on the Dodgers’ dominance and the Angels’ futility.
Final: Dodgers 7, Angels 1
Julio Urías gives up home run, but finishes first half on a high note
After having his worst start of the season his last time out, Julio Urías had one of his best tonight.
The left-hander pitched seven innings, giving up only one run on a Brandon Marsh solo home run in the seventh.
The game lowers Urías’ ERA in the first half to 2.89.
As a team, Dodgers starting pitchers enter the All-Star break with a 2.77 ERA — a distant first in the majors.
Mid 8th: Dodgers lead 7-1
Freddie Freeman homers for 1,000th career RBI
Freddie Freeman reached a major career milestone with a mammoth drive to right.
Leading off the fifth, Freeman sent a solo home run to right for the 1,000th RBI of his career.
He also has 16 hits in his last six games, half of which have gone for extra bases.
Mid 5th: Dodgers lead 7-0
Dodgers break it open with Trea Turner, Max Muncy home runs in third
For a second straight night, an early rout is on at Angel Stadium.
The Dodgers broke open the game with five runs in the third inning — two on Trea Turner’s second home run of the game, then three more on a Max Muncy no-doubt blast to right.
It gives the Dodgers — who won 9-1 last night — a quick six run lead.
Mid 3rd: Dodgers lead 6-0
Dodgers strike first on Trea Turner home run
It didn’t take long for the Dodgers to jump in front.
In the top of the first inning, Trea Turner hit his 13th home run of the year, a solo blast to left-center field that opened the scoring.
Julio Urías, meanwhile, blanked the Angels in the bottom half of the inning.
End 1st: Dodgers lead 1-0
Mike Trout scratched late from lineup with back spasms
Mike Trout was supposed to make his return from a back injury Saturday, originally listed in the Angels’ lineup for the first time in four games.
However, minutes before first pitch, the team announced he would not start after all, citing continued upper-back spasms for the three-time American League most valuable player.
Here is the Angels’ new lineup:
The Dodgers have Julio Urías on the mound as they close out the first half. Here is their lineup for Saturday:
Get your hot dogs (and much more) here. A guide to eating at Dodger Stadium
Heading out to Dodger Stadium for the All-Star Game? Or just wondering what to eat the next time you attend a Dodgers game? You will have plenty of choices.
The food and beverages offered at every U.S. ballpark have evolved to cater to the local fan base. MLB teams have stepped it up in the fan experience when it comes to dining at the ballpark. Yes, you still can eat your traditional hot dog and peanuts, however, each team has diversified its menu that resonates with the fan base and city, and hopefully to attract a new wave of baseball fans.
Dodger Stadium is no exception. The ballpark is known for its famous 10-inch Dodger Dog. But did you know that the ballpark also offers dessert nachos and spiral potatoes?
Dodgers starter Tyler Anderson added to the All-Star Game roster
After the most recent start of his breakout 2022 season, Tyler Anderson was asked if he’d just completed the best three-month stretch of his career.
“I don’t know,” the Dodgers left-hander said. “You probably know better than I do.”
It has been. And Saturday, it got even better.
Anderson was named to his first career All-Star team, picked by the National League as a replacement for Giants pitcher Carlos Rodón, who will be inactive for next week’s event at Dodger Stadium.
Brush with perfection underscores why Clayton Kershaw deserves to start All-Star Game
Clayton Kershaw’s eight-inning, six-strikeout performance against the Angels on Friday was imperfect, but it was perfect in its excellence and efficiency and the enthralling drama he created on a warm summer night that was made for baseball and generous dashes of the improbable.
With more than a little defensive help from his friends, he kept the Angels off the bases through seven innings, setting a Dodgers-leaning crowd at Angel Stadium abuzz by striking out Shohei Ohtani and Taylor Ward to end the seventh.
“After the third or fourth incredible play, I thought it was going to happen,” catcher Austin Barnes said of a perfect game. “He wanted it. We all wanted it. Especially the defense was playing so well behind him. You don’t get many chances at that. He threw the ball really special today.”
ICYMI: Clayton Kershaw’s near-perfect night propels Dodgers to dominant win over Angels
The Angels and Dodgers renewed their Southern California rivalry in the opener of a two-game Freeway Series in Anaheim on Friday night.
Two ships passing in the night, they were not.
The Dodgers are a frigate steaming toward their ninth National League West title in 10 years, with an arsenal of bats and arms that appears deep and powerful enough to make another World Series run.
The Angels are like a leaky life raft that has been adrift for weeks, their playoff hopes torpedoed mostly by a group of hitters who lead the major leagues in strikeouts — by a lot — and too often look, as Tommy Lasorda once said of Kurt Bevacqua with an added expletive, like they couldn’t hit water if they “fell out of a boat.”
How to watch and stream the Dodgers this season
Here’s a look at the Dodgers broadcast and streaming schedule for the remainder of the 2022 regular season: