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 Juan Uribe scored the winning run on an error in the bottom of
the ninth inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over
the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night in front of a sellout crowd
of 53,051 at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers used the victory to extend their lead over the
second-place San Francisco Giants in the National League West to 2
1/2 games. The Angels, meanwhile, fell two games behind the
division-leading Oakland Athletics in the American League West.
Uribe singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth off
right-hander Kevin Jepsen (0-1), then moved to third base when
catcher A.J. Ellis lined a single to center field.
With pinch hitter Andre Ethier at the plate, the Angels moved up
right fielder Kole Calhoun to form a five-man infield.
"I wasn't too concerned about it," Ethier said. "I guess it's
similar to over-shifting to the right side. But in that case, I'm
lucky that the guy is throwing hard enough where I'm probably not
going to pull it."
Ethier then hit a high chopper to third baseman David Freese, who
barehanded the ball and threw to the plate. However, Freese threw
between Uribe and the glove of catcher Chris Iannetta, allowing the
Dodgers third baseman to score on the error.
"It's a matter of putting a good quality swing on the ball," Ethier
said. "You can see what happens when, sometimes, you just put the
ball in play."
Angels manager Mike Scioscia believed that Ethier's grounder put
both Freese and Iannetta in a difficult position.
"It's not an easy play because of the pace of the ball," Scioscia
said. "David came in and did what he could do, but there's not a big
window to thread it through to get it to Chris. The throw was a
little bit into Uribe, and it was a tough play for Chris."
Closer Kenley Jansen (2-3) struck out all three batters he faced to
earn the victory.
The Angels tied the score in the top of the eighth inning when first
baseman Albert Pujols hit his 21st home run of the season deep into
the Dodgers' left field bullpen against right-hander Brian Wilson.
Pujols' solo drive was the 513th homer of his career, putting him
into 21st place on the all-time list. Pujols passed Hall of Famers
Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews.
The blast denied Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw a chance to be
the major leagues' first 14-game winner. In seven innings, Kershaw
amassed seven strikeouts and 10 groundouts, including two double
plays, while allowing three runs, seven hits and two walks.
The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner conceded no runs and hits in
his final four innings.
"They knew exactly what the plan was," Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis
said of the Angels' hitters. "There were some at-bats, especially in
the second and third innings, where we had a hard time finishing
guys off with breaking balls.
"But as a hitter, when you stand up there and the pitcher is
constantly pounding you inside, that ball on the outside corner has
got to feel like it's a million miles away."
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The Dodgers broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning by
combining two errors and a stolen base into an unearned run. Right
fielder Matt Kemp reached first base when Freese, after fielding
Kemp's ground ball, pulled Pujols off the bag with a high throw.
Kemp then stole second base, took third when Iannetta's throw went into
center field, and scored the tiebreaking run on left fielder Scott Van
Slyke's sacrifice fly.
The Angels used three successive hits in the top of the second to take a
2-0 lead. Second baseman Howie Kendrick singled up the middle, then
moved to third base on Freese's double down the left field line. Both
scored when Iannetta hit another double down the right field line.
The visitors had a chance to add to their advantage after Iannetta went
to third on right fielder Collin Cowgill's single, and Cowgill took
second on left-hander Hector Santiago's sacrifice. However, Kershaw
defused the threat by inducing shortstop Erick Aybar to ground out.
The Dodgers responded with three runs in the bottom of the second. After
Kemp singled and Van Slyke walked, Uribe hit his eighth home run of the
season, a three-run drive into the left field stands.
The Angels got consecutive doubles down the left field line to tie the
score in the third. Center fielder Mike Trout hit the first, then came
home when Pujols followed suit.
"We gave ourselves a chance," Scioscia said. "We hit the ball hard
early, and we had a lot of guys in scoring position. But if you crack
the door open, you're going to pay a price."
Santiago (3-8) allowed four runs (three earned), five hits and three
walks while striking out two in 5 1/3 innings.
NOTES: Angels CF Mike Trout extended his hitting streak in interleague
play to 20 games with an infield single in the first inning. Trout's
streak is the longest ongoing interleague stretch in the major leagues.
... Angels manager Mike Scioscia earned his 1,300th victory Monday
night. Scioscia, who caught for the Dodgers from 1980-92, has spent his
entire managerial career with the Angels, who hired him for the 2000
season. ... The Dodgers placed LHP Paco Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled
list and recalled RHP Pedro Baez from Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday.
Rodriguez, whom the Dodgers recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on
Friday, has a strained left shoulder. ... Dodgers 2B Dee Gordon seeks to
become the seventh player to finish the season leading the major leagues
in both stolen bases and triples. Among the six who accomplished the
feat are Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, Max Carey and Lou Brock.
... Dodgers OF Carl Crawford celebrated his 33rd birthday.
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