Dodgers 4 Angels 7 : Started Off Well, Went Downhill Fast

The Dodgers got off to a quick lead in the top of the first inning, but again fell to the Angels in the series finale.

In the top of the first inning it looked like the Angels were falling apart and that the Dodgers seemed to be capitalizing on mistakes. Chase Utley led off the game and bunted for a base hit because of how deep they were playing him with the shift on. With Utley on first base, Justin Turner came up to bat and Jhoulys Chacin threw a wild pitch which allowed Utley to advance to second base. Corey Seager would ground out, but move Utley over to third and Utley would score on another wild pitch form Chacin to get an early lead.

The Angels would bounce right back in the bottom of the first and tie the game with two hits and Mike Trout drove in Kole Calhoun on a base hit. The Dodgers would go quiet in the second inning, but strike again in the top of the third when Utley and Seager singled and Howie Kendrick drove them both in with a triple. (And yes, us Dodger fans won the trade). In the bottom of the third the Angels would strike again when Trout hit a solo home run.

From there it was pretty much downhill for the Dodgers. What started out as a good game seemed like they lost all passion and offensive ability after the third inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Ross Stripling would allow one hit and walk two in order to load the bases with only one out. C.J Cron came to the plate and Stripling hit him in the elbow so the Angels got to walk in a run. Stripling would be pulled later that inning. He pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowed five earned runs, seven hits, struck out three and walked three.

The biggest problem the Dodgers have been having lately is the bullpen. Alright, let’s be real, that has been the problem for almost three years now, but it proved true again tonight. With Stripling not able to go five complete innings, Dave Roberts had to call to the pen early and tonight they gave up three more runs. Chris Hatcher really struggled tonight.

All in all, the bullpen was just awful, but the offense was not much better following the third inning. Either way the Dodgers need to figure their stuff out because after tonight’s loss the team is now 3.5 games behind the Giants in the NL West.

The only good news is the Dodgers will be heading down to San Diego for a three game series with the San Diego Padres starting tomorrow. The Padres are now currently in last place and have a record of 17-25 so hopefully the Dodgers can manage a sweep in order to catch up to the Giants.