Angels blast three home runs in 10-1 drubbing of Dodgers

ANAHEIM, Calif.— A six-run first inning propelled the Angels to a 10-1 win over the Dodgers in front of a sellout crowd Wednesday at Angel Stadium.

The Angels (58-81) tied the season series with the Dodgers at two wins each. Wednesday was the last time the two teams play each other in 2024.

Dodgers starting pitcher Bobby Miller surrendered five runs before getting his first out of the game. After walking Taylor Ward and hitting Zach Neto with a pitch, Miller allowed a single to Nolan Schanuel to load the bases. 

"We needed it, especially the way we lost the game last night," Angels manager Ron Washington said. "It just shows you that they can get past one night to the next."

Anthony Rendon hit a two-run single to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. Mickey Moniak blasted a three-run home run over the right field fence to extend the Angels' lead to 5-0. 

The Angels' offense picked up where it left off in the second inning with a solo home run by Niko Kavadas to extend the lead to 6-0. 

The run support was plenty for Angels starter Griffin Canning, who had one of his best starts of the season. 

Canning pitched 6.2 innings, allowed five hits, one run and struck out seven. 

"It's a lot of fun competing against those guys," Canning said. "Obviously a really great lineup so they can of bring out the best in you."

Canning struck out former teammate Shohei Ohtani, who went 0-4 Wednesday.

"It was fun facing him," Canning said. "Once you get in the game environment, it's me vs. you. He's the best hitter in the game right now, so especially with those guys coming after him, it helps to get him out."

Ward hit a home run off Miller in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. Wednesday was the third game in a row in which Ward has hit a home run and he has the longest active hitting streak in the American League.

"I feel really good. Just feel like I'm kind of back to where I was in 2022 where I would make the decision to swing, I would have some type of barrell or good success instead of rolling it over," Ward said. "I feel really good mechanically."

Miller pitched five innings for the Dodgers, allowed seven runs on five hits with eight strikeouts. His earned run average ballooned up to 7.79 but manager Dave Roberts says Miller will remain in the rotation even with Yoshinobu Yamamoto returning to start next Tuesday. 

"It’s got to be better. And he knows that," Roberts said of Miller. "You just can’t go out there and give up five runs and put us behind the 8-ball." 

Roberts said he expects Miller to make a start against the Chicago Cubs next week.

Six different Angels had runs batted in Wednesday and every hitter in the lineup got a hit. Jo Adell, Ward and Neto each had RBI singles in the eighth inning to give the Angels a 10-1 lead. The game was the first time the Angels have scored at least 10 runs in a game since July 30 in a win over the Colorado Rockies.

The Angels seemingly perform slightly better when playing teams in the playoff race. Washington said it's a good sign the team can perform in front of packed crowds and good teams.

"It seems like when we play these kind of teams, what we can do really shows up," Washington said. "We are chasing consistency. Once we find consistency, we are going to be somebody to reckon with.

"The atmosphere that we are in is a playoff atmosphere. We are not in the playoffs, but it's nice to be in that atmosphere and they rose to the challenge."

Andy Pages, who was a defensive replacement for Mookie Betts, hit a RBI single in the seventh inning for the Dodgers. 

The Angels will travel to Texas to play a four-game series against the Rangers. Jack Kochanowicz will start Thursday for the Angels against Cody Bradford and the Rangers.

The Dodgers have a day off Thursday before beginning a home series against the Cleveland Guardians Friday. Landon Knack will be recalled to start the game Friday.