The Angels flipped the script on the Dodgers, preventing a Freeway Series season sweep with a 13-5 win Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
Emmet Sheehan’s start only lasted 1 ⅓ innings, as he struggled to keep his pitch count low. He threw 35 of his 49 pitches in the second inning alone. Many of those went to Nick Madrigal, who battled Sheehan in a 14-pitch at-bat in which Madrigal won two ABS challenges.
“I thought the stuff was good coming in,” said manager Dave Roberts about Sheehan. “After the first inning, I just didn’t feel comfortable getting him past the 40-pitch mark in one inning. I’m not going to put this guy in harm’s way.”
The Angels third baseman drew a walk, marking the beginning of the end for Sheehan, who already allowed a single. The 26-year-old pitcher loaded the bases with another walk. Angels catcher Sebastián Rivero drove in two runs with a center-field single.
“Frustrating,” Sheehan called his outing. “Couldn’t put guys away, not efficient.”
The game shifted into an unexpected bullpen game, and the Dodgers shuffled through seven pitchers. Edgardo Henriquez retired five consecutive batters. But the Dodgers’ spiral continued. Jo Adell reached first after a ball deflected off the glove of Miguel Rojas. Adell then moved to second on a passed ball by catcher Dalton Rushing. Reliever Blake Treinen then gave up a walk and before Rivero hit another two-run single.
Madrigal beat the Dodgers (42-24) in another double-digit pitch plate appearance in the fifth. Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna called a third strike, but Madrigal argued with the umpire, emphatically slapping his head. After an ABS review, the pitch was determined to be a ball. Rushing, seemingly not pleased with a borderline check-swing call, argued with Iassogna. In the end, a 12-pitch at-bat resulted in another walk.
Coupled with a missed call for a walk on a foul-tip earlier in the game, the check-swing call added to a frustrating afternoon for the Dodgers.
“It should be reviewable,” Roberts said of the foul tip. “That changed the game, and obviously the Madrigal check-swing. I felt that he went. That did impact the game.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts walks on the field during the seventh inning Sunday against the Angels.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Roberts replaced Alex Vesia with Jonathan Hernández, who gave up a two-run single to Jose Siri. Miguel Rojas threw out Madrigal at home on the hit to limit the damage.
In the third inning, Kyle Tucker drove in a run on a groundout that landed a foot away from home plate, but it gave Shohei Ohtani just enough time to sprint home after Rivero threw to first.
Still, the Dodgers, who had outscored the Angels 41-5 in games this season before Sunday, struggled. Twice, Rushing hit singles. Twice, Ryan Ward, the next batter, grounded into a double play, dashing any momentum. Rushing and Ward hit back-to-back home runs to right field in the sixth, but the Dodgers couldn’t capitalize on the momentum.
Rushing received more playing time than predicted this series, but he said he embraced the opportunity. He matched his career-high with four hits on Sunday. His home run was his first since April 20.
“This year, my whole goal was make sure if there’s an opportunity that I can pick a day that Will [Smith] needs rest, make sure that I can provide just as much as he does with the bat as well as behind the plate,” Rushing said Saturday. “He knows I’ll catch every game if he can’t go back there.”
Catcher Will Smith did not play Sunday because of neck stiffness, despite Roberts predicting the catcher would return for the series finale. Imaging on Smith’s neck came back negative, though it’s unclear if he’ll play Tuesday against Pittsburgh.
“It’s not anything serious, but it’s something that is preventing him from playing,” Roberts said. “It’s kind of a day-to-day thing.”
Rushing’s and Ward’s home runs were quickly negated when Adell hit a two-run homer to left-center field. Zach Neto also hammered a seventh-inning, three-run home run. By the time the game concluded, the bottom of the Angels lineup batted 13 for 15, walking four times. The Angels (25-41) could’ve scored more if not for Neto and Mike Trout, who hit a combined one for 12.
“The bottom half of the order, they were fouling off a lot of balls, we couldn’t put those guys out,” Roberts said. “But, yeah, the Madrigal at-bat really was a difference today.”
Glasnow talks about his injury
Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow (back spasms), who was put on the 60-day injured list Saturday, attributed his slow recovery to trying to come back too soon. He plans to rest a few days before building back up.
“It’s uncomfortable,” Glasnow said. “When I get into my load, something feels weird. The more I go, the more it starts to aggravate it. Generally, before I start to throw, as long as it’s completely gone, it gets over the hump, it’s gone, and then I can get back to full speed. I just feel like I haven’t gotten there yet.”