Despite Blake Snell being a late scratch prior to first pitch, the Dodger bullpen stepped up and allowed just two hits across nine innings with eight different pitchers. The offense did their part, putting up six runs on Jack Kochanowicz, resulting in a relatively comfortable win. The Dodgers were swept by the Angels twice in 2025, so however the remainder of this series goes, it’s an improvement from last season.
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Will Klein started tonight’s game on the mound in lieu of Blake Snell who will be returning to the Injured List with loose bodies in his elbow. Despite likely not knowing that he was going to start the game until just hours before first pitch, Klein did his job well and secured two scoreless innings to open the game. His second inning could’ve been sharper as he allowed a single and hit Zach Neto with a sweeper that never swept, but regardless it was two blank frames to start the evening.
Jack Kochanowicz routinely runs one of the lowest strikeout rates in the entire sport, a bit of an oddity considering he sits in the upper-90’s. He has just 127 strikeouts in 221.2 innings in his big league career, and his 13.0% strikeout rate since his debut in 2024 is the lowest among 133 pitchers that have logged at least 200 innings since then. Naturally, he started off the game with back-to-back strikeouts against Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, the beginning of three scoreless innings to start the game for Kochanowicz.
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Edgardo Henriquez took over for Klein in the third inning, and got a quick groundout before striking out both Vaughn Grissom and Mike Trout to complete his inning.
The Dodgers had their first real scoring opportunity in the fourth inning, starting with a bloop single from Will Smith and a Kyle Tucker walk. Both baserunners advanced on a wild pitch/passed ball, but ultimately it didn’t matter as Andy Pages took the next pitch to center field for a three run shot.
Kochanowicz had the opportunity to reset with the bases empty and no outs against Max Muncy, who promptly greeted him with a solo homer of his own, for back-to-back home runs. I’m no pitching guru, but I can’t imagine this was the desired location for an 0-2 fastball.
Blake Treinen came in for the bottom of the fourth inning and promptly retired his three batters on eleven pitches and nine strikes.
Ohtani started the top of the fifth inning with a double to left field, a promising sign from Shohei, but the offense was unable to cash in on the leadoff double.
Grissom made two impressive plays at third base against Betts and Smith, and Jo Adell laid out for a 102 mph liner in the gap by Kyle Tucker to keep the Angels deficit at four runs.
Pretty unfortunate.
Wyatt Mills came in for the fifth inning looking for any sort of success, having allowed three runs on three hits and four walks while recording just four outs over his first two outings this season. He walked Neto to begin the inning but was able to work around that for a scoreless frame.
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Muncy singled early in the fifth inning, setting the stage for Teoscar Hernández who went to the opposite field for a two-run shot, his first home run in 23 games.
Teoscar also added a single later in the game, making this his third consecutive multi-hit game. He’s now 11-for-24 over the past week, and has his OPS up to .761.
Not much went on for the remainder of the game besides both bullpens exchanging zeroes. Kyle Hurt was the next man up out of the pen coming in for the sixth inning, and just like the three relievers prior to him, he put up a zero without allowing a hit. Old friend Kirby Yates did the same for the Angels, retiring Ohtani, Betts, and Smith without issue. Alex Vesia cruised through his three batters, striking out the side.
Ryan Johnson threw the eighth for Anaheim and managed to keep the Dodgers off the board despite a Muncy walk and Teoscar single. Jack Dreyer came in for the eighth and like most of the relievers before him, retired his batters without giving up a hit. Brent Suter did the same for the Angels in the top of the ninth, and Charlie Barnes made his Dodger debut in the bottom of the inning, securing the win without allowing a hit.
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Tomorrow’s first pitch is at 6:38 PT with Justin Wrobleski facing the Angels’ ace, José Soriano.