The Dodgers dropped their ninth of the last ten to the Angels in Anaheim last night in a 4-2 loss.
The only Dodger runs came with two outs in the seventh when James Loney singled and Andre Ethier drove a two-run shot. Loney was the only Dodger to have more than one hit on the night, going 2 for 4. The lack of Dodger offense, getting just five hits, handed Angels start Joe Saunders his AL-leading seventh victory of the season.
Hiroki Kuroda had the Angels scoreless with two outs in the fourth when Kuroda struck out Erick Aybar but an overthrow error by Gary Bennett allowed Casey Kotchman to score from second. Kuroda then gave up two more runs in the fifth and one in the seventh, but one was unearned due to a Russell Martin throwing mistake, after he had made an error in the previous inning. Kuroda was pulled in the seventh and earned his third loss after giving up four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Joe Beimel faced a batter and yielded a hit so Scott Proctor was put in for the remainder of the game, with his only mistake being a walk.
After the game Friday, Joe Torre learned he would not be heading back to his former home of Yankee Stadium to coach the All-Star Team. Torre seems to have no problem with that, as he states he is in a new home with a new team. With his new team comes the current problem of a fifth starter, which has prompted Torre to give Chan Ho Park the nod for today’s game. This will be Park’s first start in over a year, and his first start with the Dodgers since 2001. Torre chose Park over Hong-Chih Kuo, who has been inconsistent in his starts this season, and Minor Leaguer Clayton Kershaw, who still may be unprepared to pitch at the Major League level.
The Dodgers face another tough pitcher today, Ervin Santana, who holds a perfect 6-0 record with a 2.63 ERA. Santana is 2-2 lifetime against the Dodgers, 1-1 last year.
