Angels strike early to take first Freeway Series game against Dodgers, 5-1
In the first of a three-game Spring Training series, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim struck first in the 2022 Freeway Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with their 5-1 victory in front of their home crowd at Angels Stadium on Sunday.
Powered by three homers — all allowed by Dodgers ace Walker Buehler — the Angels earned their 10th Spring Training win.
The Angels took the field with Noah Syndergaard on the mound, who finished the game with seven strikeouts, one walk and one run allowed over five innings pitched.
The first inning started smoothly enough for Buehler — striking out reigning American League MVP Shohei Ohtani and getting perennial MVP favorite Mike Trout on a very deep flyout to center field — but an Anthony Rendon double followed by a single from Jared Walsh and the Angels jumped to an early 1-0 lead.
The Halos followed that up with a big two-run bomb to left off the bat of Taylor Ward, the first of the game.
The Dodgers would strike back instantly on a Gavin Lux single that scored Chris Taylor, who had doubled two batters earlier, but it would be their only run of the game.
A string of clean innings would follow until the Angels struck twice in the bottom of the fifth thanks to two solo shots, one each for Rendon and Ohtani.
Angels closer Raisel Iglesias sealed the victory, despite a save not being in question, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
The Boys in Blue finished the game with four hits and two errors, while the Angels had seven hits — four of which were for extra bases.
The two teams will face-off again Monday at 6:10 p.m. and once more on Tuesday at the same time, both at Dodgers Stadium, before the start of the regular season on April 7.
Unlikely to pitch again in Spring Training, Syndergaard finished with a 2-0 record, sporting a 1.04 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 8.2 innings pitched.
