The Dodgers beat the Angels last night by a score of 6-3 to split the series at one game each.
The Angels matched the Dodgers’ eight hits, three by Garret Anderson, but could only come up with three runs. Two came in the fourth when Vlad was hit by a pitch and Anderson singled him over to third. Vlad then scored on an error and Anderson eventually scored when Macier Izturis grounded out. That same inning, the bases were loaded for Erick Aybar, but Dodgers starter Chan Ho Park got him to ground out to end the Angel threat. The Angels were then shut down until the bottom of the ninth, where they were down 6-2. Juan Rivera got a pinch-hit double and scored off an Aybar RBI-single, but the rallying ended there.
Ervin Santana earned his first loss of the season and is unable to join teammate Joe Saunder in the seven-win club. Santana gave up four runs on five hits through six. He allowed a two-run homerun to Blake DeWitt in the second and gave up two more runs in the third. Darren Oliver allowed another run to score in the seventh and Chris Bootcheck another in the eighth to make it a 6-3 Dodger victory.
The Angel loss is just their second in eleven game against the Dodgers at home. They will look to win the series today at 12:35pm. Jered Weaver gets the nod to improve his 2-5 record. Weaver is coming off his best outing of the season, giving up just one run through seven against the White Sox, but ended up taking the no-decision. Weaver went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA against the Dodgers last year. The Angels will face Derek Lowe, who will pitch on three days rest in place of Brad Penny. Lowe is 6-5 with a 2.86 ERA lifetime against the Dodgers, with 11 appearances as a starter and 16 as relief.
