Scott Kazmir threw five effective innings and Juan Rivera hit a two-run homer, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-2 victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick each drove in a pair of runs for the Angels, who improved to 10-3 on their season long 14-game road trip that ends Sunday.
The Angels have won 15 of the last 22 meetings with the Dodgers. The latest win came with their hottest pitcher on the mound.
Kazmir (6-5) allowed two runs and three hits. The left-hander struck out five and walked four en route to his third straight win and fourth in five starts.
He was staked to a 3-0 lead in the fourth thanks to Hunter and Rivera.
Hunter broke a scoreless tie with a two-run double off rookie John Ely (3-3). One batter later, Rivera hit his 10th homer of the season to give the Angels a 3-0 lead.
Kendrick’s RBI double the following frame made it 4-0.
Ely allowed four runs and six hits in five innings.
Russell Martin's two-run double in the fifth cut the lead in half. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the seventh, but Kevin Jepsen got Matt Kemp to ground out to end the frame.
Fernando Rodney threw a perfect eighth and Brian Fuentes worked around a two-out double in the ninth for his ninth save in 12 chances.
LA Angels | LA Dodgers | |
Scott Kazmir | Player | John Ely |
Win | W/L | Loss |
5.0 | IP | 5.0 |
5 | Strikeouts | 2 |
3 | Hits | 6 |
3.60 | ERA | 7.20 |
LA Angels | LA Dodgers | |
Juan Rivera | Player | Russell Martin |
2 | Hits | 2 |
2 | RBI | 2 |
1 | HR | 0 |
5 | TB | 3 |
.500 | Avg | .500 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
LA Angels | 9 | 1 | 15 | .265 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
LA Dodgers | 5 | 0 | 8 | .156 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |