Santiago in command as Angels top Dodgers

April 2nd, 2016

LOS ANGELES -- The Angels spoiled the Dodgers' final home game of the exhibition season Friday with a 5-1 win in the second of a three-game Freeway Series.
Hector Santiago set the tone for the Angels with five shutout innings and Yunel Escobar led the offense with two hits and two RBIs from the top of the lineup.
Santiago looked sharp in his final appearance of the spring, scattering three hits and striking out four against no walks. The left-hander said his key to success was attacking the strike zone, though pitching at Dodger Stadium against the Dodgers' regular lineup helped, too.
"It's kind of like the first night game, starting to get more realistic, feel like you're in-season," Santiago said. "Attack mode. Definitely that first night game, get a little bit more adrenaline. You've got our guys and their guys, full big league ballgame right there."

Dodgers rookie Kenta Maeda was also pleased to be on the mound in a Major League setting.
Maeda had mixed results in his first appearance at Dodger Stadium, but the Japanese right-hander said he's healthy coming out of Spring Training and was pleased to finally get his first home start under his belt.
Maeda went four innings and was charged with two runs on three hits.
"I think the biggest accomplishment was being able to throw at Dodger Stadium," Maeda said through a translator. "Aside from that, physically I feel great. I feel pretty confident about my pitches. I've been able to throw the way I wanted to throw. I'm ready to go."
Maeda breezed through two innings, retiring the all six batters he faced, before encountering trouble in the third.
Geovany Soto and Rafael Ortega opened the frame with consecutive singles for the Angels, setting the table for the top of the lineup. Escobar drove in a run with a single and Ji-Man Choi plated another with a groundout.

Escobar drove in another run during the Angels' three-run seventh inning. Johnny Giavotella added a run-scoring single and scored on a sacrifice bunt by the newly acquired Shane Robinson that puzzled the Dodgers' defense.
The Dodgers got on the board in the eighth inning thanks to three straight singles from A.J. Ellis, Trayce Thompson and Corey Seager to open the frame. But with the bases loaded and two outs, Angels reliever Cam Bedrosian entered the game and induced a fly ball to end the threat.

Up Next for Dodgers: Left-hander Alex Wood gets the ball as the Freeway Series concludes Saturday at Angel Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT and the game will be available on MLB.TV. It's the final exhibition for the Dodgers before Opening Day in San Diego.
Up Next for Angels:Mike Trout is expected to return to the lineup when the Angels host the Dodgers in the finale of the Freeway Series at 6:05 p.m. PT. Trout missed the previous two games with a stomach virus. Right-hander Nick Tropeano will take the mound for his final appearance on the spring. The game is available live on MLB.TV.