ANAHEIM -- With the way the Angels have been scuffling over the last two months, it figured to be a tough matchup against longtime Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in the first game of the Freeway Series on Friday at Angel Stadium.
It certainly played out that way, as the Angels didn’t have a baserunner reach until Luis Rengifo doubled to open the eighth inning in a 9-1 loss in front of a sold-out crowd. Rengifo's hit saved the Angels from having a perfect game thrown against them for the first time since 1994; the club also hasn’t been no-hit since 1999.
"He's a future Hall of Famer and he had his stuff working against a team that hasn't been swinging the bat very well,” said interim manager Phil Nevin. “You do tip your cap on a night like that. You could tell from the beginning he had a few pitches that were really working for him, and he never strayed away from them."
Kershaw, who threw only 89 pitches to record eight scoreless innings, looked destined for history before Rengifo doubled to left field on a 2-1 slider at the bottom of the zone. Rengifo, though, was left stranded, as Jo Adell and Jared Walsh flied out before Andrew Velazquez grounded out to end the inning.
“Every time you look up at the scoreboard, you know he has a no-hitter so you have to break it up,” said Rengifo, who also broke up Mike Leake’s perfect game bid in the ninth inning in 2019. “That’s the mindset for everybody.”
Kershaw, who previously threw a no-hitter against the Rockies on June 18, 2014, struck out six, including Jonathan Villar, who struck out looking in the sixth and was ejected by home plate umpire Cory Blaser for arguing balls and strikes.
Brandon Marsh prevented the shut out with a solo homer off reliever Reyes Moronta in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to stop the club from falling to a season-worst 13 games under .500 at 39-52 with one game left before the All-Star break.
The Angels should get a boost on Saturday, as Mike Trout said he plans on returning to the lineup after missing three games with upper back spasms.
“Treatment was good today and I plan to be back in there,” Trout said. “Being in the dugout is tough.”
The Angels had a few early chances against Kershaw, only for the Dodgers to make several key defensive plays. Michael Stefanic was robbed of two hits, as Justin Turner made a great flying snag at third base in the fourth and Trea Turner made a strong play at shortstop in the seventh. Second baseman Hanser Alberto also snared a line drive from Jared Walsh in the fifth.
While the Dodgers showed off their strong defense, the Angels were hampered by their own miscues, especially in the fifth inning with starter Patrick Sandoval on the mound. The left-hander was hurt by an error from Villar on a routine grounder off the bat of Justin Turner with two outs that put runners on first and second. Sandoval then gave up a deep drive to right field to Alberto, but Jo Adell couldn’t handle a catchable ball at the wall for what was ruled a two-run triple.
“It’s not an easy play,” Nevin said. “He got twisted around a little bit. On the initial break, he was to his left and that’s a tough one. It becomes difficult to get your sightlines back. He just didn’t get to the wall and make that play.”
Sandoval was noticeably upset after Adell, who made a diving catch to rob Freddie Freeman earlier in the inning, couldn’t make the play. He was removed after the triple having thrown 102 pitches over 4 2/3 innings. He finishes the first half of the season with a 3.00 ERA in 15 starts.
“I was just frustrated at the result,” Sandoval said. “It was my last inning and I knew that was my last guy. So it’s a combination of all that. I obviously know he’s not out there trying to drop balls or misplay balls. But the frustration was about not being able to get through five and coming out of the game after that.”