Sandoval, Warren lead way to win in extras

LOS ANGELES -- The Angels, who are counting on youth with their pitching staff the rest of the season, saw strong efforts from left-hander Patrick Sandoval and rookie reliever Austin Warren against the Dodgers in the Freeway Series opener on Friday night.

Sandoval, 24, went five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, while Warren, 25, threw 2 1/3 scoreless frames in a 4-3 win in 10 innings at Dodger Stadium. It was the 13th start of the year for Sandoval, who joined the rotation in mid-May after three relief appearances. He's posted a 3.12 ERA in those 13 outings with 83 strikeouts in 75 innings. And Warren picked up his first career win in his fourth career appearance, getting it done in a hostile environment with 50,822 fans in attendance.

• Box score

"Warren was the difference-maker in the game tonight,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “He comes out there and he's emotionally under control. He has good stuff. It's not like he's been lucky right now. Sandoval didn't have his typical command today. His stuff was good, but his command wasn't there. But overall, it was a great team win for us."

Even without his best command, Sandoval again displayed his consistency, as he’s allowed three runs or fewer in all but one of his starts, and he pitched effectively against a Dodgers lineup that featured eight players who had been All-Stars at least once in their career.

Sandoval found himself in trouble early, allowing a leadoff single to Mookie Betts in the first after left fielder Justin Upton couldn’t make the play on a foul ball down the left-field line. Justin Turner followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. But Sandoval was able to limit the damage. He struck out Max Muncy and gave up a run on an RBI groundout from Albert Pujols before getting Corey Seager to pop out to end the inning.

"It was a battle," Sandoval said. "They made me work for every out I got."

Sandoval mostly settled down from there, though he was hurt by a one-out walk of AJ Pollock and a single from pitcher David Price in the fourth. Betts followed with an RBI single to left to give the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead. After that, Sandoval got Turner to fly out to right to escape another jam.

Sandoval gave up a leadoff double to Muncy in the fifth but pitched his way out of trouble yet again. His main issue was his efficiency, as he needed 96 pitches to get through five frames.

"They definitely were not going to chase,” Maddon said. “I think more than anything, he was at around 100 pitches through five, their patience allowed them to do this. But I want to believe the next time he goes out there, he'll be able to navigate it a little bit better and be more aggressive."

Jack Mayfield homered to tie the game in the sixth and Warren helped the Angels stay in it with his strong performance. He retired Pujols to end the seventh and remained in the game for the eighth and ninth innings, helping send the game to extras. Tasked with facing Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner in the ninth, he retired the side in order.

“It was awesome,” Warren said. “The fans were insane but it boosted my confidence a little bit more. I was ready to go. I wanted that ball in the ninth inning. I went out there and got the job done."

José Iglesias, who'd homered earlier in the game, brought home the go-ahead run with an RBI double, then Mayfield plated another run on a bloop single off Muncy’s glove. Raisel Iglesias gave up an unearned run in the 10th but recorded his 24th save.

“It was amazing,” Warren said. “Iglesias got in there and shut the door. I knew I had the win in my back pocket at the time. I came in and was named player of the game. And I went right into the cart and into the bathroom for a beer shower.”