The Angels beat the Dodgers in their first Interleague game of the season by a score of 4-2.
The Angels scored one in the fourth and rallied for two more in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. Macier Izturis, batting leadoff in place of Chone Figgins, went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Izturis singled in the fifth and was moved to third by a Gary Matthew’s Jr. single. Vlad hit a sacfly to score Izturis and Garrett Anderson then had an RBI-single to score Matthews, Jr. The Angels were up 3-2 in the middle of the seventh and added an insurance run when Izturis singled again and advanced to third off two wild pitches before Vlad grounded out to score Izturis.
Joe Saunders earned his seventh win of the season, most in the AL. He kept the Dodgers scoreless through six, with the only mistake coming in the seventh when he gave up a two-run homerun to Andre Ethier. He was pulled in the eighth and recorded just those two runs on five hits. Scot Shields then earned the hold by finishing the eighth before K-Rod earned his MLB-leading seventeenth save by closing out the ninth in 1-2-3 fashion with two strikeouts.
Ervin Santana will start today in hopes of joining Saunders in the seven-victory club. Santana is 2-0 with a 1.31 ERA at Angel Stadium this season, and 27-9 with a 3.01 ERA lifetime at home. Santana went 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA against the Dodgers in Interleague Play last year, with the loss coming on the road.
The Angels will face veteran righty Chan Ho Park, who is making his first start in over a year. Park has put up a 2.16 ERA in 12 bullpen appearances this season. He is 1-1 with a 12.91 ERA at Angel Stadium.
