In one of the most close-range rivalries in sports, another season series has come and gone. The team that most would expect to win is the team with eight World Series titles and a load of playoff appearances in the last decade-plus of years. But that’s not how rivalries work. There are close, competitive games and stretches where one team wins more often over the other. Usually, a split of a season series is expected in most sports’ regular season rivalry matchups. But the sport of baseball allows for more games to be played between rivals than other sports leagues and thus this is the case with a six-game regular season schedule split into two different three-game series. A three-game series allows for a winner and a loser. And it allows for the chance of a legitimate sweep over the other team. That is what just happened in the Freeway Series between two of the closest rivals in all of sports.
In a region where the fan base is divided, with plenty of fans rooting for one team and a lot of fans rooting for the other. In Southern California, you have the melting pot of fan bases from all the people who have decided to put up roots and live in one of the most beautiful climate regions on the face of the Earth. But there are “local fans” who have decided to pledge their allegiance to one of the two local baseball clubs. Having to put up with all of those fans who might wear a navy Yankees hat or don the red B of the Red Sox who are transplants living in SoCal, the rivalry between the two local clubs is more mutually fun and less intense than those other rivalries that lead to fights between the opposing players and fans. The teams compete against each other like any other ballgame, except the crowd doesn’t treat it that way. They treat it as gaining bragging rights over their friends or family members who might be rooting for the other team. But in this rivalry, one team doesn’t seem to take the games against their closest-located opponent as seriously as the other team does. That flaw could cost that team dearly, as they have fallen out of first place due to a slumping record since the beginning of July and a losing stretch that has continued for that club. At the hands of their closest rival. This is the paradigm between the Los Angeles Dodgers and their next-door neighbors in Orange County that share their aerial moniker in the “Los Angeles” Angels, who just sweep the Dodgers in a six-game season series. A result that very few saw coming, but it happened. And this latter series occurred in the dog days of summer, when the Dodgers are usually solidified as a playoff contender and the Angels are barely staying alive in the chase for the postseason, if they are even in it at all. After all in the daily grind of a baseball season, one series could either fuel a team on a hot run or it could set them back in taking away any momentum that the team has within itself to win constantly.
In this mid-August three-game set, the Angels not only won one game(all they needed to clinch the regular season Freeway Series), but they won two more games to complete their first-ever six-game season sweep over the Dodgers. This wasn’t their first Freeway Series sweep over their interleague rivals from L.A, as the Halos swept the Dodgers in a four-game Freeway Series played in 2019. But this six-game sweep against the defending World Series champions definitely is impressive and it comes to show that this Angels team plays to the level of their competition, for better or worse. While suffering series defeats to teams with lesser records in this season so far, such as the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles(twice), Miami Marlins(who have a way better record now than they did when the Halos faced them in late May) and Chicago White Sox, the Angels have series wins over plenty of playoff-contending teams. The New York Yankees, in the Bronx. The Boston Red Sox, who they beat five times out of six in June. The Seattle Mariners, at least once. The Philadelphia Phillies(just throwing one National League club in here). And now, two separate sweeps over the Dodgers. Just sweeping them in mid-May at Dodger Stadium launched an eight-game winning streak that fueled the Halos back up to .500. Now looking to start another long winning streak, the Angels swept their cross-county line rivals(the term crosstown is grossly inaccurate and the media should stop using it in perpetuity) on their home field, at their home ballpark, which was invaded by a bunch of Dodger fans who can’t afford to go to a handful of games at their overpriced team’s stadium on a hill overlooking downtown Los Angeles. The Angels have now won seven consecutive regular season matchups over the Dodgers, dating back to the final game of the 2024 Freeway Series on Sept. 4 of last year when a 10-1 blowout win occurred at Angel Stadium.
What makes this Freeway Series sweep in Anaheim so special was that it occurred with loads of drama and production from the one guy who is now undoubtedly the most notable player to ever don an Angels jersey and a Dodgers uniform in his playing career. That’s not an overstatement, by any stretch. The two-way superstar who hails from the Land of the Rising Sun(Japan), Shohei Ohtani, started his major league career with the mediocre Halos in Orange County. A lack of success and injuries along with horrible organizational mishaps led Ohtani to sign with the Dodgers, who offered him a contract of the century that he has deferred to be paid fully towards him later in his life after he retires from the game. Shohei had actually been on the losing side of the Freeway Series as an Angel, as he was on the losing side of an astounding 10 consecutive regular season contests against the Dodgers. Only after he signed with the Los Angeles franchise seeking their first real World Series title since 1988 did the Halos finally win a regular season Freeway Series game for the first time in nearly three years. In their first official matchup versus Ohtani on June 21, 2024, the Angels prevailed 3-2 in extra innings in spite of giving up a solo blast to Shohei. The Dodgers responded with a win the next night, featuring another Ohtani homer, to split the two-game set on their home field. A 6-2 extra-inning victory on Sept. 3, 2024 in Anaheim gave the Dodgers a chance to win the Freeway Series for the third straight year, but that blowout win by the Angels robbed them from doing so. Unbeknownst to anyone with a logical brain in their heads, that would launch an active-winning streak by the Halos over their Interstate 5 foes.
A three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium occurred in mid-May, and it was the Halos that authored the sweep. With home run power and clutch pitching, the Angels held down the Dodgers and won the first game by four runs and the other two games were won by the same margin of a deuce(a Vin Scully spin there). Now in a different part of the season, with a few roster tweaks, the Angels and Dodgers were now slated to face each other in mid-August at the Big A. Obviously, the Angels won all three games. But each one of these games should be broken down to highlight the most notable moments that occurred and how the path to victory for the Halos was paved and earned in every single one of these games. In spite of the massive loads of Dodgers fans that packed the outdated seats of Angel Stadium, the Halos still came out fighting and won each of these intense games by mostly-tight margins. Let’s start out with a Monday night game that looked like a blowout, but some late drama made it a little closer in the end.
Mon. Aug 11: The Halos Clinch The Freeway Season Series Victory Over The Dodgers With A Couple Of Homers By Zach Neto And Solid Pitching… For The Most Part
The second part of the 2025 Freeway Series got off to a bang, with Jose Soriano pitching for the Angels and Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting the game for the Dodgers. After a groundout by Ohtani to start the game and a couple of line outs by Freddie Freeman and Will Smith following a single by Mookie Betts, the Halos immediately went to work in the bottom of the 1st. Zach Neto led off with a solo home run, breaking the franchise record for most leadoff homers to start a game offensively for the Angels in franchise history. His eight leadoff homers top Brian Downing’s previous record of seven leadoff solo shots that he achieved in the 1987 season. Mike Trout then walked and Taylor Ward did the same thing. With runners on first and second with one out, Yoán Moncada came up to bat and he hit a ball that got through to right field for an RBI single that scored Trout. Two runs to start out the game was definitely a boost for Jose Soriano, who manhandled the Dodgers hitters for the rest of the night. Six scoreless innings with six strikeouts and only two hits surrendered for Soriano, who got some big-time run support in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Young outfield prospect Bryce Teodosio led off the inning with a single and then Neto got a single behind him. Nolan Schanuel got hit by a pitch on an 0-2 count to load the bases and Trout was coming up with a chance to really increase the lead for the Halos. He did that exact thing by hitting a 1-2 splitter off Yamamoto into right-center field that scored two runs to double up the Halos’ lead. It was now 4-0 with no outs and runners on first and second base. Ward grounded into a fielder’s choice that had Trout out at second base, with Ward thankfully beating out the throw by second baseman Alex Freeland to avoid a double play. Moncada came up with runners on the corners and delivered another well-struck ball to right field that scored Schanuel to give the Halos a 5-0 lead. Gustavo Campero was up next and he was a defensive substitution for Jo Adell, who got thrown out by home plate umpire Dan Iassogna for arguing a pitch-timer violation called on him in the bottom of the fourth inning. Campero hit a solid ground ball to Betts at shortstop that scored Ward on an RBI groundout to give the Angels a 6-0 lead over the Dodgers. Luis Rengifo walked and Dave Roberts took Yamamoto out of the game. Alexis Diaz came in and got Travis d’Arnaud to fly out to end this inning, which yielded a crooked number of four runs by the Halos.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Roberts made a questionable move by taking Freddie Freeman out of the game and putting in backup catcher Dalton Rushing to play first base for the rest of the night. A 6-0 deficit is big, but with a lineup that the Dodgers have a comeback isn’t that impossible. Looking to protect one of his star players from getting hurt, Roberts didn’t make any other defensive subs. With one out in the inning, Neto came up and blasted a slider thrown by Diaz that went over the wall in center field for another home run. It was Neto’s 19th homer of the season and his third career multi-homer game. The Angels were now up 7-0, a “touchdown“ lead over the Dodgers. The top of the seventh saw the first relief pitcher come into the game for the Halos, as Luis Garcia(who started out the season on the Dodgers and then was released, then picked up by the Washington Nationals, who traded him back to the Angels in being the first ever player in franchise history to have three separate stints with the big league ballclub) looked to be the “bulk guy” in cleaning up the final few innings of the game. But Garcia got himself into some trouble by walking Max Muncy, then surrendering a single to Andy Pages and walking Michael Conforto with one out. Thankfully, Garcia got Alex Freeland to hit into a double play where he fielded the ball, threw it to d’Arnaud at home plate and d’Arnaud hurled it over to Schanuel to complete the rare 1-2-3 double play to end the inning. So, with that scoring chance blown by the Dodgers, it seemed that the Angels had this game completely to themselves. But the eighth inning showed a different kind of ending would occur.
The only significant thing that occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning was Oswald Peraza pinch-hitting for Moncada due to a left-handed pitcher being in the game for the Dodgers. Peraza would play at third base for the rest of the night. In the bottom of the eight, Shaun Anderson(who had gotten a win in the most recent Freeway Series game on May 18) came in to pitch after Garcia threw too many pitches in the 7th inning. Anderson struck out Alex Call and then faced off against Ohtani, who he struck out in a matchup back in May. Ohtani worked the count full and then blasted a slider thrown by Anderson out to deep right-center. The ball cleared the right field pavilion and was caught by one of the many Dodgers fans sitting out there. This was Ohtani’s 100th career home run at Angel Stadium, making him join a list that consists of Mike Trout(who has 200 career homers at the Big A), Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, Brian Downing and Albert Pujols. This was simply a solo home run and the Dodgers were still down by a big margin of six runs. But a couple of singles by Betts and Will Smith made things interesting with two outs. Max Muncy came up to bat and hit the first pitch thrown by Shaun Anderson out to right field. The ball went down the line and Gustavo Campero tried to make a play on it, but he crashed into the wall and his glove flew into the stands. The ball was well out of his reach, but Campero had come down hard on his right foot and had suffered a serious injury to his ankle.
After Muncy was done rounding the bases on his massive three-run shot, the training staff for the Angels came out to check on Campero, who was unable to get up on his own power on the right field warning track. The situation was so bad that paramedics at the stadium had to come out onto the field and run to aid Campero. A medical cart was driven onto the track and the medical workers had to put a cast above Campero’s injured foot so that he could stand with some assistance. Campero eventually was taken off the field in what was a scary injury situation. With him out, Rengifo had to go from playing second base to play in right field as Christian Moore came in to be the second baseman. Ray Montgomery also made a pitching change, bringing in Connor Brogdon to finish this unexpectedly high-scoring top of the 8th. Brogdon got pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas to strike out swinging to end the inning. Now with the score at 7-4 in favor of the Angels, there was a chance for Kenley Jansen to be used in the top of the ninth.
The Halos had a chance to add on in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out double by Teodosio off Anthony Banda setting up that opportunity. Neto was robbed of a chance to have a three-homer game as he was intentionally walked. Schanuel came up to bat and had a real chance to bring in both runners when a wild pitch advanced them a base forward. But he struck out to end the inning and Jansen was set to pitch to close out his former team. Jansen didn’t have any drama, as he struck out Conforto and Freeland to start out the inning. He then got Alex Call to fly out to shallow right field, with Moore making the game-ending catch to have the Angels clinch this Freeway Series victory. For the first time since 2019, the Angels had won a Freeway Series in the regular season over the Dodgers. It definitely took some hard work and overcoming a stretch where they struggled against their “crosstown” rivals, but the Halos had finally earned another Freeway Series victory. The play that clinched this series was not as dramatic as the one that clinched the Freeway Series win in 2019, when Kole Calhoun had to throw a ball from right field to home plate, where catcher Dustin Garneau tagged out Cody Bellinger to end the game at Dodger Stadium that night to secure a one-run win for the Halos. So, this game was well-won. The Angels were still looking for their first Freeway Series win at home since 2021 and they had two chances to do it. The game on Tuesday night would be a bit more tight and thrilling, with some unexpected moments and an ending they hadn’t had against the Dodgers in a long time.
Tues, Aug. 12: The Halos Fight Tooth & Nail Against Dodgers, With A Triple Play And Late Rallies Fueling Them To A Freeway Series Victory In Anaheim For The First Time In Four Years
So, this second game of the Big A edition of the Freeway Series had a bit of a tweak when it came to the Angels’ starting pitcher for this game. Tyler Anderson was originally slated to start the game, but due to back tightness his next start had to be pushed back. With Anderson unavailable, the Halos had to have a called-up pitcher from the minor leagues Victor Mederos start this game for them. Mederos had already made plenty of appearances for the Angels at the big league level out of the bullpen in mostly chewing up innings in blowout games, so this would be the first career start for the Cuban-born right-hander. To make room for Mederos, Shaun Anderson was designated for assignment, again. Also Gustavo Campero was placed on the injured list after the freak accident he suffered in Monday night’s game playing in right field following Jo Adell’s ejection. With a broken ankle, Campero was replaced by Niko Kavadas on the active roster. In this middle game of the series, the starter for the Dodgers was Emmett Sheehan, a young right-hander used due to the amount of injured starting pitchers that the blue team from L.A has had to deal with. Both teams’ lineups remained mostly the same from the night before, with different catchers starting(Dalton Rushing for the Dodgers, Logan O’Hoppe for the Angels). The one big change in the Dodgers lineup was that Teoscar Hernández was in the lineup starting in right field after not playing in the series opener. The bat of the 2024 Home Run Derby winner definitely makes the lineup for the defending World Series champs more dangerous.
The game started with Shohei Ohtani leading off and he drew a walk against Mederos, who struggled with command in his first ever big-league start. Mederos hit Betts with a slider and Ohtani advanced to third base on a flyout by Freeman. Hernández came up and hit a solid ball to left field that scored Ohtani to put the Dodgers on the board first in this game. But the very next at-bat, Max Muncy came up and hit a line drive ball that was caught by Luis Rengifo, who threw the ball to Nolan Schanuel at first base to double off Hernández. A good double play to bail out Mederos and prevent further damage from being done. In the bottom of the 1st, the Halos bats answered back as a one-out walk by Schanuel led to a solid single by Mike Trout and then Taylor Ward got an RBI single to tie the game up. Yoán Moncada delivered a third straight hit off Sheehan as he hammered a ball out to center field for a double that scored Trout to give the Angels the lead. Adell brought home another run on an RBI groundout to increase the lead to 3-1, as the Halos had given Mederos some much-needed run support early on. Unfortunately, Mederos squandered that two-run lead as he gave up a two-out walk to Alex Freeland and that led to Dalton Rushing hammering a ball out to right field for a two-run shot to tie the game at three apiece. Mederos walked Ohtani again before striking out Betts to end the top of the 2nd. The game was high-scoring early on and it continued in the third inning when Ward hit his 28th homer of the season to break the tie. Mederos had a calmer third inning and a smooth fourth inning, aided by a double play turned by Rengifo and Neto.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Angels struck again versus Sheehan as Rengifo walked with one out and Bryce Teodosio came up with two outs. On a 1-2 count, Teodosio hit a ball down the left-field line that went far enough into the corner for Rengifo to be sent home by Bo Porter. Rengifo dove in safely for the run as Teodosio had achieved his first career big league RBI. A clutch hit there to increase the lead to 5-3 in favor of the Angels. In the fifth inning, a new pitcher came in as Mederos was on a pitch count in this game due to him making a start for the Salt Lake Bees on the Friday before this game. So, on short rest Mederos only went four innings and the bullpen had to pick up the slack from here. Andrew Chafin came in to pitch in the top of the fifth and he got the two left-handed batters he faced(Rushing and Ohtani) out with ease. But Betts hit a single with two outs to get on base and then the next two batters swung at the first pitch Chafin threw to each of them. Freeman got a single to right field that advanced Betts to third and then Hernández hacked a single to left field for his second RBI of the game. The Dodgers were down by a run now and threatening to take control, and things only got worse when Chafin walked Muncy to load the bases. Ray Montgomery had to go to the bullpen to prevent something worse from happening as he brought in Ryan Zeferjahn, who walked in the game-tying run by throwing four out of zone balls to Andy Pages, but settled down and managed to strike out Michael Conforto to end the inning. The score was tied 5-5, but the Dodgers missed out on a big chance to take command in this game.
After a clean bottom of the fifth pitched by Sheehan, the Dodgers came up to bat in the top of the sixth. Brock Burke came in to pitch for the Angels and Dave Roberts countered that move by having Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for the left-handed hitting Alex Freeland. Rojas hit a leadoff single and Rushing hit another single that advanced Rojas to second base. With runners on first and second and no outs, Burke had to face Ohtani. Usually this situation spells trouble when you have a three-time MVP coming up to bat with a chance to not only give his team the lead, but to increase it to as much as three runs. The at-bat against Ohtani went to a 2-2 count and Burke threw a four-seamer on the fifth pitch. Ohtani cracked it up the middle, but Zach Neto was in the exact perfect spot as he caught the ball for the out. However, both runners had run off the bases in thinking the ball was going to get through to the outfield. Rojas was off second base and Neto stepped on the bag before he(Rojas) got back to it. So, now we had a double play, but Dalton Rushing was still trying to get back to first base. In an instant of less than one second after stepping on second base, Neto threw the ball over to Schanuel, who caught the ball and tagged Rushing out as he was trying to get back to first base. Rushing had an awkward landing, but the Halos had just turned their eighth triple play in club history. An incredible feat of defensive awesomeness shown off by Neto, who turned the first triple play of his career. This was ironically the first triple play that the Angels had turned since Aug. 18, 2023, which was a Friday night game against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was also the last time I ever saw Shohei Ohtani play live in-person(I do not currently intend to go see a game featuring the Dodgers and Ohtani in the lineup). Ohtani hit a grand slam in that game and the Halos turned the triple play in the top of the ninth inning with the score tied at six apiece against Tampa Bay, with it being a 6-4-3-2 double play. The shortstop in that game was not Neto(he was injured I think), it was Luis Rengifo, who threw the ball to then-second baseman Brandon Drury, who threw it to Schanuel(who made his major league debut that night) and then a bold move was made by Yandy Diaz of the Rays to try to score the go-ahead run from third base. But Schanuel threw the ball to home plate, where Logan O’Hoppe tagged Diaz out for a thrilling triple play. That was incredible seeing that live in-person. Unfortunately, the Halos were unable to walk-off the game in the ninth inning and the game went into extra innings, where the Rays scored three runs and the Angels bats weren’t able to respond. Hopefully this triple play turned against Ohtani would lead to a victory by the Angels nearly two years to the date of their most recent triple play turned.
In the bottom of the sixth, a new reliever came in for the Dodgers in Jack Dreyer, who pitched the night before. With Moncada due up first, he was pulled(due to his inability to hit right-handed after an injury that has kept him from doing so this year) for a pinch-hitter and it was Christian Moore, who hit a leadoff double to right field. Unfortunately, the Halos were unable to score Moore as Adell popped out, Rengifo flew out to right (which Moore took third base on), and O’Hoppe popped out(with a new pitcher in the game for L.A) to end the inning. Luis Garcia came in to pitch in the top of the seventh and he had a clean inning besides giving up an infield single to Freeman, who also stole second base. Another stranded runner on base for the Dodgers, who had a high number in the LOB department. The same pitcher who got out of the sixth inning for the Dodgers returned to pitch in the bottom of the seventh and he got Teodosio, Neto and Schanuel out in successive order. In the top of the eighth, Reid Detmers entered the game and after giving up an infield single to Pages, he got pinch-hitter Alex Call and Rojas to strike out. Detmers faced another pinch-hitter in Will Smith, who flew out to Ward to end the inning. In the bottom of the 8th, Blake Treinen came in to pitch for the Dodgers, who could have used him as a potential closer in this game. Instead, he was slated to face Trout, Ward and Moore. Treinen walked Trout to start the inning, but got Ward to hit into a fielder’s choice that had Trout out at second base. Treinen then struck out Moore and Adell to end the eighth inning with the score still tied 5-5. The only way the Angels could win this game now was to have a walk-off occur.
The top of the 9th came and Kenley Jansen entered to pitch in a non-save situation. Pitching on back-to-back nights against his old ballclub, Jansen looked to have another clean outing against the Dodgers, who had the top of their order due up. Ohtani, Betts and Freeman. Definitely a tough gauntlet for Kenley to face. The second pitch he threw to Ohtani was hammered out far to right field. Flying down the line, the ball stayed fair and it was gone. A solo shot for Shohei and his second home run in as many nights at the Big A. The Dodgers retake the lead, up 6-5. Many people watching thought that would be a dagger in this game and the Dodgers would close out the Angels in the bottom of the ninth. But oh contraire, there was still a bit of baseball left to be played. Jansen settled down and got Betts and Freeman to fly out. Then, he struck out Hernández to end the top of the ninth. The Halos needed to score at least one run to force extra innings, and multiple runs in the bottom of the ninth would give them the win. The reliever entering to pitch against the bottom three hitters in the lineup would be Alex Vesia, who was looking for a save to give the Dodgers their first win of this 2025 Freeway Series. But Vesia was in for a rocky outing that changed the outcome of this game, big time.
Vesia had a couple of defensive changes behind him, as young outfielder Justin Dean entered the game to play in center field, pushing Pages to right field defensively. Rengifo led off and got a single on a full count to start the inning, then O’Hoppe drew a walk on eight pitches to have the game-tying run on second base and the go-ahead run at first. Teodosio came up and put down a solid bunt that advanced both runners a base as he was thrown out at first base. With runners at second and third with one out, Roberts knew that his reliever was in hot water. But he decided to intentionally walk Zach Neto for the second straight night, opting to have Vesia engage in a lefty-lefty matchup against Schanuel. The Angels also made a move, as O’Hoppe was pulled out after the sac bunt and Oswald Peraza was installed as a pinch-runner, representing the winning run at second base. So, the at-bat for Schanuel ensued and on the second pitch, he hit a deep ball to center field. The ball was not going to be deep enough for a home run, but it would be deep enough for a sacrifice fly as Dean made the catch and Rengifo raced home to score on the sac fly. Peraza was held at second, as the Angels had tied this game up at six. Mike Trout was coming up to bat next and he had a chance to be the walk-off hero. Trout hasn’t had a walk-off hit since 2015, making it ten years since he was celebrated and mugged by his teammates with the game-winning hit. In typical Trout fashion, he didn’t hit the ball but instead drew a walk on six pitches to load the bases. The only runner that mattered was the game-winning run at third base in Peraza. With Vesia gassed, Roberts took him out of the game and brought in another one of his relievers to face Ward, who had the most recent walk-off hit for the Angels on Aug. 3 against the White Sox. A three-run homer for his third career walk-off hit(all of which have been big flies). All Ward needed to do was to draw a walk and it would be game over. The new pitcher in the game was Ben Casparius, who threw three out-of-zone pitches to start the at-bat. One more ball out of the zone and the Angels would have their ninth walk-off win of the year. The next pitch was thrown and it looked like it was out of the zone in the inside corner. But instead home plate umpire Scott Barry called it a strike. A pretty questionable one that kept the at-bat going. The next two pitches thrown by Casparius were squarely in the zone, as Ward looked at strike two and swung and missed at strike three. A total robbery there, as strike one was clearly not in the zone. But the game was heading to extra innings now and the Angels had to find a way to prevent the Dodgers from scoring in the top of the 10th and then walk it off in their turn. I guess a walk-off walk would be a lame way to end a Freeway Series game(even though Tim Salmon had one back in the early days of the Freeway Series in the late 90s). So, now we get extra innings with the horrid automatic runner.
The most recent Freeway Series regular season win for the Dodgers was an extra-inning victory on Sept. 3 of last season at the Big A when they scored four runs in the top of the 10th to win 6-2. Now they had another chance to win in extras. The toast runner for the Dodgers would be Justin Dean, who came in to play defensively in place of Teoscar Hernández. Muncy, Pages and Call were slated to bat against Connor Brogdon, who was looking to hold Los Angeles scoreless. Travis d’Arnaud was in as catcher after O’Hoppe was pinch-run for in the bottom of the 9th. Brogdon struck out Muncy to start out the 10th, then he got Pages to fly out to Teodosio in center field, which had Dean advance to third base with two outs. Thankfully, Brogdon didn’t throw a wild pitch in his at-bat to Call, who popped out to end the top of the 10th. Another missed opportunity to score for the Dodgers and this time it would come back to cost them dearly.
In the bottom of the 10th, Ward would be the “toast runner” at second base as Casparius re-entered the game in looking to force it to an 11th inning. Christian Moore, Jo Adell and Luis Rengifo were due up to bat for the Angels, who sought to get their third walk-off win in extra innings this year. Moore showed bunt on the first two pitches, but pulled the bat back to draw balls on them. On a 2-0 count, Moore made contact on the bunt and the ball bounced and trickled down the line slowly, but it stopped on a pebble to stay fair on the line. Moore reached safely and Ward advanced to third base on the second good bunt in as many innings for the Halos, who were now on the verge of winning this tight game. Adell was up next and he had a chance to deliver his second walk-off hit of the season. Jo swung at the first two pitches, but then drew a ball and then fouled off the next two pitches. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Adell delivered a high chopper that went over the heads of the Dodgers infielders on the left side(who were merged in to try and get an expected out at home plate). The ball went into the outfield and Ward came home to score. Game over, Angels win 7-6. Adell got mobbed by his teammates and would have his jersey ripped off his torso. The Halos had their first walk-off win over the Dodgers since 2018, when they had a wild walk-off by Ian Kinsler that scored David Fletcher on a throwing error by Yasiel Puig in a hot, steamy game in July of that year. I remember because I was at that game with my dad and little sister. Ironically, Shohei Ohtani started that rally by drawing a walk with two outs and then scoring the game-tying run against Kenley Jansen, who was in his eighth season closing out games for the Dodgers. An amazing way to win this game and clinch the first Freeway Series win in Anaheim since May 2021. Now the Halos were going for the Freeway Series season sweep, something they achieved back in 2019 in four games but now were looking to achieve in six games. But they had to face their worst nightmare come true and it was definitely a battle worth watching or attending(for the lucky 45,000+ who were able to pack into Angel Stadium for the FS Finale).
Wed. Aug, 13: Two-Way Shohei Returns To The Big A As He Duels On The Mound Against Seven Of His Former Teammates, Who Help Grind Out Another Clutch Victory To Secure The Freeway Series Sweep For The Halos
So, for this Freeway Series finale, we had the much-anticipated return of Shohei Ohtani to the mound of the Big A. Ohtani had made around 50 or so starts on that mound for the Angels across four or five different seasons(he didn’t pitch at all in 2019 and he only had two starts in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season). Ohtani achieved a great deal of success as a pitcher that validated his MVP numbers offensively. Winning two AL MVP awards for his two-way efforts with the Halos, Shohei joined his teammate Mike Trout as the only players in franchise history to have multiple MVP awards. Having two players with multiple MVPs is impressive for any franchise, but to have two of them who played together for six seasons is even more impressive(Trout won only one of his three MVPs with Ohtani as a teammate). Ohtani has progressed from his throwing arm surgery that he had in Sept. 2023 at the end of his time in Anaheim and had finally recovered enough to contribute to a Dodgers’ pitching staff decimated by loads of injuries. After making some starts with limited innings and pitches over the past two months, it seemed that Ohtani was ready to go a further distance in his return to the mound that he has pitched on more often than any other big league mound so far in his career. Two-way Shohei was back at Angel Stadium and that was a nightmare that Halos fans were ready to face after doing well enough against Ohtani as a hitter(the stats are probably more balanced). Ohtani was going to be pitching against seven of his former teammates, including his former short-time battery mate in Logan O’Hoppe(who could have caught more games behind Ohtani if not for his injury that had him miss four months in his rookie season), fellow veteran offensive bats in Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo and Jo Adell, and of course we can’t forget the big kahuna in this case in Mike Trout, who Shohei had actually faced before in a high-stakes game in the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship game. Ohtani struck out Trout with a nasty sweeper on a full count to secure the championship victory for his Samurai Japan baseball team(he was obviously named the Most Outstanding Player of the whole tournament). Trout was now going to have a “rematch” against Shohei in facing him for the first time in a big league regular season game. The ultimate matchup was slated to potentially happen twice. So, let’s see how it went down.
Kyle Hendricks was the starter in this game for the Angels and he used to have to pitch and hit in games(back when actually pitchers were involved in the lineup at National League ballparks, but that ended in 2021). Back in his early years with the Chicago Cubs, Hendricks had to bat in the 9 spot in games at Wrigley Field and other NL ballparks. Ohtani is the only guy who can say that he can pitch and hit in the same game now and he would be leading off this game at the plate before coming out to pitch on the mound. Ohtani started this game with a bang, as he hit a full count pitch for a leadoff triple down the right field line. Using his hustle, Shohei got to third and he didn’t have to spend much time there as Mookie Betts hit a ball to left field that scored Ohtani San for the first run of the game. So, Shohei could focus on getting ready to pitch in the bottom of the 1st, or so he thought. Hendricks had himself a tough first inning, throwing a massive amount of pitches as he also gave up a two-run shot to Will Smith, who increased the early lead for the Dodgers to 3-0. Hendricks had to face eight batters as he threw north of 40 pitches in the first inning and the Angels bullpen was even getting Ryan Zeferjahn ready in case things got even nastier. But Hendricks thankfully had a flyout, force out and strike out to spare himself of worse trouble. Ohtani was in the hole, potentially needing to come on deck in case Alex Freeland got on base, but he was now ready to pitch in the bottom of the first inning at the stadium that he pitched so many home starts in.
Shohei was greeted with cheers by all the Dodgers fans in attendance(who were more silent in this game than they were the first two nights of the series) and some of the Angels fans as well. But he was now a lethal opponent with his pitching persona back on the mound. He faced Zach Neto first and got him to strike out swinging on a sweeper, then he got Nolan Schanuel to ground out to Miguel Rojas at second base. Mike Trout came up next to face off against Shohei on the mound and the fans were all locked in. The first pitch was a strike on a four-seamer that Trout didn’t swing at, then the second pitch was called a ball. The third pitch was another fastball thrown by Ohtani and Trout swung and missed at it in the heart of the strike zone. The next two pitches were balls that ran the count full. Then, on the 3-2 pitch, Ohtani threw a sweeper in the inside corner that Trout didn’t swing at and home plate umpire CB Bucknor called it strike three. At-bat over as Shohei won Round 1 against Trout. A clean 1-2-3 inning for the Sultan of Strikes(my pitcher nickname for Ohtani, with his two-way play of style being comparable to Babe Ruth, who actually threw left-handed and hit left-handed).
In the top of the 2nd, Hendricks settled down as he struck out Ohtani, got Betts to lineout to Yoán Moncada at third base and had Freeman line out to Bryce Teodosio in center after giving up a leadoff single to Rojas. In the bottom of the second, Ohtani faced a bit more trouble than he did in the first as Taylor Ward blasted a four-seam fastball out to deep right center field and the ball went over the yellow line on the right field pavilion wall. It was a “bullseye” home run for Ward, who hit his 29th homer of the season and he now had 90 RBIs for the year. That wasn’t all in the bottom of the second, as Moncada hit a double to left field and advanced to third base on a flyout by Adell, then came home to score on a sac fly hit by Rengifo. It was now 3-2 in favor of the Dodgers as Ohtani gave up his first runs to his former team. But he kept his team in the driver’s seat as O’Hoppe lined out to right field to end the inning. Both Hendricks and Ohtani pitched clean third innings leading into the fourth inning, where trouble would be brewing again from the Dodgers bats. Alex Call got a speedy infield single by beating out a throw from Moncada to Schanuel. Hendricks then walked Freeland, but struck out Rojas. For his third time facing Ohtani, Hendricks walked him on six pitches. With the bases loaded and Hendricks having thrown 86 pitches in his sloppy outing, Ray Montgomery decided to go to the bullpen and bring in Zeferjahn, who was warming up again. Being thrown into the fire again with the bases loaded and one out, Zeferjahn needed some luck to get out of this jam unscathed. Unfortunately, he allowed a couple of the inherited runners to come around to score as Betts got an RBI single that scored Call and after striking out Freeman, Zeferjahn walked Smith to bring Freeland in to score. The only positive of this incident was that Ohtani was stuck on the basepaths and wasn’t brought in to score, with Teoscar Hernández striking out to end the inning. But the Dodgers had restored their three-run lead over the Angels and that was definitely a benefit to Shohei on the mound.
So, Ohtani returned to the mound and faced Trout for a second time in this game. Trout took the first two pitches for balls and just like the first at-bat against Shohei only swung at one pitch. This time he made contact, but the ball went foul. Trout then looked at the next two pitches, which were fast four-seamers that landed in the zone. The final pitch Ohtani threw to Trout was a 100-mph heater, so Shohei had regained some of that velocity that he had for his years pitching for the Angels. Ohtani now had two(technically, three) career strikeouts against his old legendary teammate in Trout. The rest of the bottom of the fourth wasn’t dramatic, other than a wild pitch strikeout that had Moncada advance to first base and another wild pitch that put Moncada in scoring position, but Adell grounded out to end the inning with no runs scored. Zeferjahn returned to pitch in the top of the fifth, having a couple of long at-bats that resulted in a line out and fly out. With thirty-plus pitches having been thrown by the young reliever, Montgomery took out Zeferjahn and brought in Andrew Chafin to get the final out of the inning. Chafin ended up striking out the left-handed batting Freeland to end the inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Ohtani returned to pitch, having thrown a season-high in pitches. Roberts gave Shohei the chance to get through five full innings to qualify for his first win as a Dodger. But Ohtani faced some trouble in the inning after striking out Rengifo. He gave up a single to O’Hoppe and another one to Teodosio. With runners on first and second, Neto came up to bat for a third time against his old teammate. On a 2-0 sweeper, Neto smacked the ball out into left-center field and it split the gap. O’Hoppe came home to score easily and Teodosio raced quickly to score as well. A two-run double by Neto and Ohtani was done after throwing exactly 80 pitches in the game. Shohei reverted back to being the designated hitter only as Anthony Banda came in to pitch for him in relief. Schanuel was due up with the game-tying run at second base and he walked to be the go-ahead run at first base. Trout was up next, but he struck out on three pitches, then Ward walked with two outs. With a left-handed pitcher on the mound, Moncada was again lifted for a pinch-hitter in Christian Moore. Unfortunately, Moore was unable to come through with the bases loaded as he flew out to right field to end the inning. But the Halos were now down by one run again and had forced Ohtani as a pitcher out of the game. Against a struggling Dodgers bullpen, the Angels had a real chance to win this game, all they needed was one little rally to do so.
It can go without saying that Moore came in to play at second base, which shifted Rengifo over to third base to start the top of the sixth. Chafin remained in and started the inning by walking Rojas, but then he struck out Ohtani, got Betts to line out and forced Freeman to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the inning. The Dodgers went with a new pitcher to start the bottom of the sixth in southpaw Justin Wrobleski, who made his only appearance of this series. He got Adell, Rengifo and O’Hoppe out in order to breeze through those hitters. Reid Detmers came in to pitch in the top of the 7th and he gave up a leadoff walk to Smith, then struck out Hernández for the first out of the inning. Pages then came up and hit a far ball to right-center field, with the ball looking like it was going to get over the yellow line and hit the bullseye for a two-run shot. But Bryce Teodosio jumped up to make an amazing catch while avoiding Jo Adell in the same area. Teodosio made a home-run robbing catch and Adell was pumped up when he did so. A big play robbing the Dodgers from reclaiming their three-run lead that they held twice earlier in the game. Detmers then got Call to ground out to end the inning in avoiding a potential late disaster. Clutch defensive plays can tend to lead to wins for the team who performs them, so Teodosio’s catch was a good sign. Wrobleski returned to pitch in the bottom of the 7th and Teodosio got a leadoff double fresh off his highlight catch. Neto flew out to shallow center field and Teodosio was unable to advance to third base. During Schanuel’s at-bat, Teodosio attempted to steal third and got thrown out by Will Smith, who threw a gem to Freeland, who had his glove tag Teodosio. The Angels thought that he was safe and Montgomery challenged the play, only to show the replay angle of Teodosio coming off the bag and the tag by Freeland still being on him. So, the call on the field was confirmed and Teodosio was out. After that, Schanuel grounded out to third in what was a missed opportunity for the Halos to potentially tie the game.
After a smooth top of the 8th pitched by the constantly-used Brock Burke(who struck out Ohtani to end the inning), the Angels came up to bat in the bottom of the 8th in looking to take the lead for the first time in this game. Trout was due up first and he drew a walk against Wrobleski, who proceeded to walk Ward on a full count. Roberts took Wrobleski out and brought in his fireball reliever Edgardo Henriquez to try and get out of the jam. Moore then came up and showed bunt like he did the night before in the tenth inning in looking to advance both runners into scoring position. Moore’s bat made contact with a fast pitch inside by Henriquez that turned Moore around, but the ball went fair to the right and Freddie Freeman fielded it, then threw it to third base to get Trout out on a force out. A good defensive play there as the bunt by Moore didn’t succeed fully, with runners on first and second with one out. The Halos requested a crew chief review of the play at third base with Trout’s slide potentially beating out Freeman’s throw, but the replay confirmed that Trout was clearly out. Adell then came up and hit a 100-mph pitch up the middle at a fast velocity as the ball went off the glove of Henriquez, who had his glove go off his hand. The ball rolled out to second base and Adell was safe at first as Ward and Moore advanced into scoring position. The bases were now loaded with one out and Rengifo coming up in looking to give the Halos the lead. Henriquez settled himself in and struck out Rengifo on four pitches. Logan O’Hoppe then came up and he was the last hope for the Halos in this inning. He needed to deliver a clutch hit that would give the team the lead. And he did just that on a 2-2 count, hitting a 103-mph fastball up the middle into center field. Ward scored easily as Pages fielded the ball in center field, with Moore racing home. The throw from Pages came in fast and Smith snatched it, but Moore slid right past Smith and was safe. The Halos had taken the lead 6-5 over the Dodgers. O’Hoppe had come through in the clutch to give his team the lead at long last. How many clutch hits can one team have against a specific opponent in a single year? For the Angels in 2025 against the Dodgers, that number was seemingly infinite. Teodosio wasn’t able to add on as he grounded out to third to end the inning. But the Halos had done what they had intended to do and finally had the lead over the Dodgers. And for the third straight night, a specific pitcher would pitch in the top of the 9th inning.
Kenley Jansen came in for his third consecutive appearance against his old team as he looked to secure his second save in three nights against the Dodgers. Thankfully, he would not have to face Ohtani, who had batted last in the top of the 8th. It was Betts, Freeman and Hernández due up, three batters that Jansen made quick work of on Tuesday night after giving up the solo blast to Shohei. Jansen got Betts to fly out to Ward in left, got Freeman to ground out to Schanuel at first and had Hernández fly out to Teodosio in center field to close out the game. The Angels had completed the Freeway Sweep over the Dodgers. Seven consecutive wins over their I-5 rivals. An amazing feat in a season filled with plenty of ups and downs so far. Sweeping the defending world champs in a season series was not on plenty of people’s bingo cards, but that’s what happens in baseball: the unexpected. One team can knock off another team on any given night or day, no matter what their record is when compared to the opponent. The Halos definitely proved that no matter how many losses they suffer, they always are upbeat to take on and take down their next-door neighbors from Los Angeles proper.
The Freeway Series has swung back into the Angels’ favor and because of their lack of clutch hits and pitching, the Dodgers now find themselves currently out of first place in the NL West. The San Diego Padres now stand one game ahead of the Dodgers as both teams who are separated by a farther distance(over 100 miles) are now going to play each other six times over the next two weeks. Those games will be the final ones that those teams will play against each other in regular season play and those games will determine who has the head-to-head edge against each other. That tiebreaker could very well determine which one of those teams wins the division and which one of them might have to settle for being a Wild Card team. The Dodgers currently hold that head-to-head tiebreaker over San Diego, having won five times out of seven against their “little brother” down south. But if the Padres win five out of these next six games, they will have earned the head-to-head tiebreaker and potentially increase their division lead over the Dodgers in looking to win their first division title in nearly 20 years. So, these six Freeway Series losses to the Angels could come back to haunt the Dodgers, whose players didn’t take getting swept on their home field back in May seriously enough. And that’s the one thing about this rivalry that curses the Dodgers- They don’t take the Freeway Series as seriously as the Angels do. That’s why the Halos have won the majority of games head-to-head all-time against the Dodgers. It doesn’t matter the venue or the aerial moniker, the Angels usually come out on top and come through in the clutch against their division rivals.
Dodgers fans say the Freeway Series is like Halos fans’ “World Series” because of the lack of championship success for the franchise in Anaheim(except for that one magical season in 2002). In spite of saying this, Dodger fans still pack the seats of the Big A whenever Freeway Series games occur(preseason or regular season). They go to the stadium in Anaheim(even when their team isn’t playing) because it’s easier to access(some traffic woes, but not as bad as downtown L.A) and cheaper to buy tickets to games played there than at the overpriced ballpark near Elysian Park. I don’t blame them, I actually feel bad for some of them. I feel some of their pain as a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, as I usually only go to one game each season with my dad. The ticket prices for pretty much every Southern California pro sports team(except for the Angels) are extremely expensive due to the renovations made to the venues and the success that some of these teams have had(recent or historic), emboldening them to put a premium on the “limited” amount of seats at their grand prestigious venues. But not for the Angels, not yet at least with Arte Moreno still owning the team. Maybe in the future that will be the case, but that won’t be happening anytime soon. Angels fans are spoiled by cheap prices to see a mostly mediocre team play and unless something really changes(a new stadium/new owner/team record improvement over sustained amount of time), things will remain the same, for better or worse.
Speaking of the Angels, they only gained one game on the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card standings. They are too far back to contend for the AL West division title at this point, with the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners duking it out. The Halos remain five games back of that final Wild Card spot held by New York and it’s really a six-game lead considering that the Yankees hold the head-to-head tiebreaker having won four out of seven games against the Angels this season. They did pass the Tampa Bay Rays and the lowly Minnesota Twins, whom they will hopefully stay ahead of. The Cleveland Guardians are only a half game back of the Yankees currently, but the Texas Rangers are closer to the Halos now with their recent struggles at home. The Kansas City Royals, who the Angels have yet to play this season, are within striking distance as well. So, this team has a chance to make a run for that final coveted third Wild Card. No matter what happens, this team has shown substantial growth as they are only five wins away from surpassing their win total from last year(a franchise low 63). This team could finish with their best overall record since 2018 and maybe even since 2015, when they were last over .500 through 162 games. So, this Freeway Series sweep can spur some optimism for Angels fans everywhere. As long as they continue doing the basic things well and have great pitching performances, this team can go on a hot run that can hopefully propel them to October baseball(postseason baseball) for the first time in many years.
Kent Bewley's News Story Collection 