Howell relishes scoreless outing vs. former club

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers reliever J.P. Howell caught up with his former Rays teammates before Friday's game and then pitched against them.

Howell, who played six seasons with the Rays before joining the Dodgers this year, entered in the fifth inning with two on and two outs and the Dodgers trailing, 6-0. The left-hander induced a flyout from James Loney and intentionally walked Jose Molina, his former catcher, to load the bases and face Tampa Bay starter David Price.

It was a matchup Howell had been eagerly anticipating.

"It was awesome, me and him were pretty good friends," Howell said.

Howell struck out Price on three pitches.

"I had to give him my best curveball," Howell said. "He's such a great pitcher, the only way to humble him really is to get him in the batter's box."

Howell helped keep the Rays from putting the game out of reach, and Brandon League followed with two scoreless innings. Carlos Marmol and Ronald Belisario also tossed scoreless frames, and the Dodgers rallied to win, 7-6, capped by four runs in the ninth.