Dodgers sweep Angels on Ethier's 2 homers
LOS ANGELES -- Andre Ethier hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to give the Dodgers a 5-3 victory over the Angels and their fourth straight win on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. The Halos wrapped up a 1-8 road trip.
Ethier also homered in the eighth inning to put the Dodgers up, 3-2, only for the Angels to tie the game in the ninth on Chris Iannetta's RBI double. When Ethier's spot in the order came around again in the 10th, the veteran yanked a 1-1 changeup into the right-field bullpen to give the Dodgers a Freeway Series sweep.
"It was the right time today to put us over the top," Ethier said. "There's not too many times in baseball where you get to take the last shot, and that was one of those opportunities."
Mat Latos allowed just one run and four hits in his Dodgers debut. The 6-foot-6 righty was pulled after six innings despite only throwing 80 pitches. The Angels' bullpen got a workout, as six relievers were called on following Cory Rasmus' three-inning spot start. Joe Smith gave up Ethier's first homer, the first the righty had allowed since last August, and Drew Rucinski gave up the walk-off for the loss.
"Tried to get ahead in the count, got to 1-1 and just made a mistake, threw a bad pitch," Rucinski said. "Frustrating."
Video: LAA@LAD: Latos goes six strong in Dodgers debut
• Welcome, Mat: Latos shines in Dodgers debut
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Ethier goes off: Before his walk-off heroics, Ethier put the Dodgers in the driver's seat in the eighth. After Kole Calhoun's homer in the top of the inning tied the game, Ethier responded with a solo shot that Statcast™ estimated to travel 423 feet, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.
"There's some momentum there for sure," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "That feeling is a great feeling, though probably not as great as the feeling at the end." More >
Video: Must C Clutch: Ethier puts Dodgers on his back
It takes a village: Rucinski was essentially the last option out of the bullpen -- once he entered the game, only closer Huston Street was left -- as the the Angels had to use six relievers after Cory Rasmus' three-inning spot start in place of the injured C.J. Wilson. All the pitching changes required quite a few pinch-hitters, due to the National League venue, and the Halos also used all but one of their available position players, catcher Carlos Perez.
"We were up against it going with a staff day against a lineup like the Dodgers have," manager Mike Scioscia said. "I tell you what, I thought we pitched great. ... Whoever was in there pitched their hearts out. Our guys got after it, we played hard and that's a good sign." More >
Video: LAA@LAD: Salas loses glove, recovers for the out
Kole shoulders the load: With the Angels' offense sputtering, Calhoun got things going with a leadoff double in the sixth inning, eventually scoring the Halos' first run on Albert Pujols' RBI groundout. Calhoun then tied the game at two with an opposite-field home run in the eighth. He was the Angels' best player in part one of the Freeway Series, also notching three hits off Zack Greinke on Friday and drawing a pinch-hit walk in the ninth inning on Saturday.
Video: LAA@LAD: Calhoun's solo shot ties the game in the 8th
Howie homer: For the second time this series, Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick went deep against his former team. In a scoreless game in the third inning, and a runner on first, Kendrick blasted a 1-0 fastball over the center-field wall. He is batting .400 on his five-game hitting streak.
"Howie was good all series," Mattingly said. "You see it so many times, when one guy is traded from one place to another, they always end up doing something."
Video: LAA@LAD: Kendrick's two-run shot opens the scoring
QUOTABLE
"You play 162 games, you got no choice. What are you gonna do, get down about yesterday? You're worried about yesterday, you're in the wrong business. Every day you've got to come out and prove yourself again -- prove how good you are as a team." -- Smith, on how to deal with losing streaks
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
This was the Dodgers' first three-game sweep of the Freeway Series since May 19-21, 2006.
WHAT'S NEXT
Angels: Garrett Richards gets the ball for the Angels when they return to Angel Stadium Monday for the first of three games against the Indians. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. PT.
Dodgers: The Dodgers get a day off on Monday, the club's third in the past eight days, before starting a six-game road trip in Philadelphia on Tuesday at 4:05 p.m. PT. Alex Wood will be making his debut in Dodger blue after being acquired in a trade with the Braves on Thursday. The series opener will also be Jimmy Rollins' first game in Philadelphia since he was traded by the Phillies in the offseason.
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