LOS ANGELES -- It must have been something in the coffee.

The Los Angeles Angels went to Seattle last week with a six-game losing streak. They swept the Mariners at Safeco Field over the weekend and kept their momentum going by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 Monday night at Dodger Stadium in the opener of the four-game Freeway Series between the Southern California neighbors.

The Dodgers fell despite getting two homers from Trayce Thompson.

After scoring a total of 18 runs during their 0-6 homestand (including 10 in the final loss, 12-10 to the St. Louis Cardinals), the Angels have scored 26 during their four-game winning streak.

Mike Trout and Albert Pujols combined to go 5-for-8 with five RBIs on Monday.

"Albert is starting to find some holes," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We're doing a little more offensively. We set the table all night."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts certainly noticed that.

"You look up tonight, they had guys on base all night long (in front of Trout and Pujols)," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "It's tough to pitch to those guys with guys on base. The key to keeping those guys in check is keeping the guys in front of them off the bases."

The Angels' latest big offensive night continued a downward trend for Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda.

The Japanese pitcher got off to a strong start in his first four major league starts. He allowed just one run in 25 1/3 innings while striking out 23 and holding opposing batters to a .189 batting average.

Things have taken a decided turn since then. Over his past four starts, Maeda has allowed 14 runs in 21 2/3 innings, during which opponents are batting .241 against him.

Monday's start against the Angels was the shortest of them all. He lasted just four innings before he was pulled by Roberts after only 73 pitches. Maeda (3-3) was charged with four runs (all in the third inning) on five hits.

"I haven't been able to execute my plan," Maeda said through his interpreter. "During the good times, I'm a little bit more careful. Even with runners on base, I've been able to get out of jams. But in a lot of situations these days, that hasn't been the case."

Indeed, Maeda had been adept at getting out of jams in his first seven starts, holding opposing batters to a .111 average (3-for-27) with runners in scoring position in those games. However, the Angels went 4-for-6 with men in scoring position in the third inning alone Monday night. Gregorio Petit and Pujols had RBI singles, and Trout hit a two-run, bases-loaded single.

"I just don't think Kenta was as sharp as he's been," Roberts said. "The command wasn't there. After that stressful third, that fourth wasn't clean. Then you've got the top of the order coming up, third time they would see him. So at that point in time, I decided to go to the 'pen."

Coming into the game, it was the Angels who must have felt trepidation about their pitching. Beset by injuries in their rotation, they recalled Matt Shoemaker from Triple-A last week.

Shoemaker brought an unsightly 9.12 ERA into Monday's start, but he kept the Dodgers well enough in check to leave with the lead after five innings. Shoemaker (2-5) yielded three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five.

The bottom of the Dodgers' order put together a two-out, two-run rally in the second inning when back-to-back walks were followed by back-to-back RBI singles from Carl Crawford and Maeda.

Thompson clubbed a solo home run off Shoemaker in the fourth to briefly cut the Dodgers' deficit to 4-3.

The Angels put some distance between themselves and the Dodgers with a three-run burst against reliever Pedro Baez in the seventh. Pujols collected his own two-run, bases-loaded single in that inning, and Johnny Giavotella added a sacrifice fly.

However, Thompson did it again, making it a one-run game again in the eighth with a two-run home run. It was his fourth home run in his past 14 plate appearances and fifth in his past eight games.

Scioscia had to cycle through five relievers, culminating in Fernando Salas in the ninth, to make that lead hold up. Salas pitched a scoreless inning for his second save of the season.

"Our bullpen is exhausted," Scioscia said. "Our rotation needs to get deeper into games. Shoe made a couple pitches he'd want to take back in the second. He didn't get quite as deep as we would have liked. It's tough to be confident when you're not performing well. He needs more outings like this."

NOTES: Angels RHP Garrett Richards is opting for a stem-cell injection to treat a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow rather than having Tommy John surgery. Richards will be shut down for six weeks and re-evaluated at that point. ... Sources indicate the Angels are close to signing free agent RHP Tim Lincecum. The 31-year-old has not pitched since last June, and he underwent hip surgery in September. The two-time Cy Young winner held a workout for scouts in Arizona on May 6. The Angels are in need of starting pitching due to injuries to Richards, LHP Andrew Heaney and LHP C.J. Wilson. ... Wilson (shoulder) threw a three-inning simulated game Monday afternoon. ... Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder surgery) "felt good" after making his first rehab start Sunday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Ryu threw 22 pitches in two scoreless innings for Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Ryu is scheduled to make his second rehab start Friday for Rancho Cucamonga, with an approximate pitch count of 45.