LOS ANGELES -- The Angels did their best to spoil future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, then kept it going offensively against the Dodgers’ vaunted bullpen in a wild win that saw the teams score a combined 20 runs.
The Angels scored five runs in four innings against Kershaw and tacked on five more in the seventh, including a go-ahead three-run homer from Logan O'Hoppe off reliever Kirby Yates in an 11-9 victory on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.
It marked just the third time this season the Angels reached double digits in runs and the first time since April 10 in Tampa. And it gave them their first series victory in a Freeway Series at Dodger Stadium since 2019, as well as their first in a three-game set at Chavez Ravine since ’12.
“Our guys came out and swung the bat,” manager Ron Washington said. “Hopefully, that lets them know that as long as they stay in the fight, they’ve got a chance. We got some big hits in some big situations. It was one hell of a ballgame.”
O’Hoppe was the hero, going 2-for-5 with five RBIs, including ripping a two-run single off Kershaw in the first inning with the bases loaded. It was part of a three-run opening frame, with Matthew Lugo also staying hot to open his career with an RBI double to left. Lugo would also contribute again, with a solo homer for insurance in the ninth.
But it was O’Hoppe’s three-run shot in the seventh that gave the Angels the lead and proved to be the difference. His 10th long ball of the year came on a 2-2 four-seamer up and away from Yates. The opposite-field blast gave O’Hoppe a career-high five RBIs.
After falling behind in the count 0-2, O’Hoppe took back-to-back splitters for balls. At that point, he said, he was looking for a fastball from Yates -- and he simply didn’t miss his pitch.
“In the past, he had thrown a couple splits to me, and then I started to slow down and not sit on it, but just anticipate that it was coming, and then he would get me looking with the heater,” O’Hoppe said. “So I knew the split was coming once he got ahead, but I really wanted to stay on the heater. I didn't want to get beat with a heater there, and that was my approach.”
O’Hoppe loved the atmosphere at the ballpark with the heated rivalry and believes it’s the kind of win the Angels can build on going forward. They had several players contribute -- Taylor Ward, with a long homer to left off Kershaw in the fourth, and Zach Neto, Luis Rengifo and Nolan Schanuel all hitting key doubles. The offense has started to show some signs of life after scuffling for nearly a month. Now, they’re just looking to do it more consistently.
“It may take me a little longer to come down tonight, because it’s an emotional one,” O’Hoppe said. “We're here to win. So it does feel good when you're in an environment like this and things are a little bit more emotional. But when you come up with a win like that, we don't want to be surprised or place it any higher than we do normally. So we'll just take the good from it.”
Closer Kenley Jansen also dealt with his emotions after being called on for a four-out save and came through in a familiar environment, as he pitched for the Dodgers from 2010-21. He came in with the Angels clinging to a one-run lead with the bases loaded in the eighth but got Michael Conforto to ground out to second before throwing a scoreless ninth to improve to a perfect 8-for-8 in save chances this year.
He also issued an intentional balk to move Shohei Ohtani over to third base before getting Mookie Betts to fly out to end the game. Jansen said he didn’t want the Dodgers to know where he was setting up, but again leaned heavily on his trademark cutter to pick up career save No. 455, which leads all active Major Leaguers. Like O’Hoppe, Jansen believes the Angels can take away positives from their impressive series victory over the Dodgers.
“I was just doing what I do best,” Jansen said. “Just live and die with my best pitch. I think the [win] is great because it shows that we can compete.”