ANAHEIM — The Angels picked a tough opponent for Grayson Rodriguez to get his first big league action in nearly two years, while the Dodgers found the perfect spot to get Roki Sasaki on track.
The Dodgers scored seven runs against Rodriguez and Sasaki dominated over a career-high seven innings, as the Dodgers beat the Angels, 10-1, on Sunday, completing their sweep of the Freeway Series.
The Dodgers outscored the Angels, 31-3, in the series.
The Angels, who have now lost six in a row and 21 of their last 26, have been in an offensive slump for weeks, so it was no surprise that Sasaki pitched his best game of the season.
He struck out eight and did not walk a batter for the first time in 16 career big league starts.
The first-place Dodgers (29-18) have won five in a row heading into this week’s meeting with the second-place Padres, while the Angels (16-31) continue their free fall.
The Angels have had plenty of rough stretches over their decade of losing baseball, but this one has been particularly jarring because injuries have not been a significant factor. The roster they are using is essentially the one they planned on having, now including Rodriguez in the rotation.
He was one of the top young starters in the majors before injuries derailed his career with the Baltimore Orioles. The Angels picked him up over the winter, gambling that he could provide a boost if he was healthy. Before Sunday, he hadn’t pitched in a big league game since July 31, 2024.
The radar gun seemed to indicate that he is healthy — his fastball averaged 96 mph and hit 99 mph — but his command showed the rust from the long layoff.
Rodriguez walked two in the second inning, and the Dodgers converted that to two runs. In the fourth, he started the inning by walking Teoscar Hernandez, before getting the next two outs. He couldn’t get the third.
Miguel Rojas singled. Hyesong Kim then hit a routine grounder to first baseman Nolan Schanuel. Kim beat Rodriguez to the bag, for an infield hit.
Shohei Ohtani then laced a two-run single into center, making it 4-0. Ohtani, who had three hits on Sunday, went 6 for 13 with two doubles and seven RBIs in the series against his former team.
Rodriguez then walked Freddie Freeman and gave up a single to Andy Pages, ending his day. The final run was tacked on to his line on a Kyle Tucker single, one of his three hits.
At that point, the Dodgers had a 7-0 lead, and Sasaki could cruise.
It certainly helped Sasaki that he was facing an Angels team has not even scored three runs in any of the last six games. The Angels have scored a major-league worst 73 runs in their last 26 games.
More to come on this story.