LOS ANGELES -- Growing up an Angels fan in Long Beach, Travis d'Arnaud went to his fair share of Freeway Series games between the Dodgers and Angels as a youngster.
But he had never experienced the rivalry as a player until this weekend. He couldn’t believe the intensity between the two clubs and the atmosphere at Dodger Stadium. And to make things even better, the Angels pulled off their first three-game sweep over the Dodgers since 2010, with d’Arnaud playing a major role, in Sunday’s 6-4 victory. He ripped an RBI single in the third and hit his first homer of the year in the eighth to give the Angels a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“It's tremendous,” d’Arnaud said. “Every game here felt like a playoff atmosphere. Felt like everybody was passing the baton. Good at-bats up and down, just a dogfight every single game, high stress, and to prevail in all three games is really special against last year's world champions. I think it's very good for our confidence moving forward, knowing we can beat anybody.”
He picked the perfect moment to go yard for the first time, as he connected on a solo shot off reliever Anthony Banda to quickly give the Angels the lead after Shaun Anderson served up a game-tying three-run blast to Will Smith in the seventh.
“I didn’t know if I was going to hit a homer for the rest of my career,” d’Arnaud said with a smile. “Just have to give the credit to [hitting coaches Johnny Washington, Tim Laker and Jayson Nix]. They’ve been tremendous in helping me feel comfortable and hopefully, it’s a start of a turnaround.”
He also helped guide lefty Yusei Kikuchi, who turned in one of his best starts of the year before he left the game in the sixth inning after a collision at first base.
Kikuchi limited the Dodgers to one run on just three hits and struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings. However, his day came to a close after he covered first base on a high chopper to first from Tommy Edman, and the two players ran into each other at the bag.
The impact caused Kikuchi to tumble backward several times. He was able to leave the game on his own accord. The Angels announced the injury as right ankle irritation, as he appeared to twist it before going to the ground. But after the game, Kikuchi said he was fine and was excited to see his team come through with the sweep.
“We just swept the best team in baseball,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “So I think as a team, we can go into the next series with a lot of confidence.”
Kikuchi received rare early run support, as the Angels scored three times in the first inning, keyed by a leadoff homer from Zach Neto and a two-run shot from Taylor Ward off right-hander Tony Gonsolin. They tacked on another run in the third on an RBI single from d’Arnaud.
Anderson giving up the homer to Smith saddled Kikuchi with another no-decision, as he’s winless in 10 starts despite a 3.50 ERA. But d’Arnaud was the hero in the eighth with a go-ahead solo homer that proved to be the difference. Anderson bounced back to throw scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth, including striking out Shohei Ohtani to win the game.
“I mean, they're the Dodgers, so when we come in here and sweep them, it kind of shows what the Angels have,” Anderson said. “It’s kind of hard to see with the record, but these guys put in the work every day -- the prep, the post, getting to the yard early and hitting. And these guys want to win. You can totally see it when you come into the locker room, and it just shows what we can do.”
Angels manager Ron Washington was impressed by his club’s effort in their first sweep of the season, adding that now, he’s looking to see more consistency going forward. They travel to play the Athletics for four games next week, and Washington wants to see his club build on their recent success.
“It means a lot when you sweep any team, not just the Dodgers, but what happened out there these past three days, all the credit goes to those players, who played very well,” Washington said. “This weekend we played real good baseball. And now, we have to take that up to Sacramento.”