Angel Stadium Anaheim, California
| Team | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 | 8 | 3 |
 | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 9 | 11 | 1 |
Highlights
We’ve been to 11 games now with 7 of them National League contests and it’s made me realize how much of a purist I am with respect to the game. No DH and the pitcher hitting provide so much more strategy to the game. To that point, I also have not been much of fan of interleague play as well. However, after witnessing the capacity crowd (44,342) of near maniacal fans dressed in either their Dodger Blue or Angel Red cheering on the opponents in this Freeway Series that would not otherwise occur (outside of a World Series), I have to admit there may be some merit to this idea after all. This one began with great promise for the Dodgers who sent the NL’s best pitcher at this point of the season (Brad Penny 5-0 1.39 ERA) to the mound, but it was not to be. The first inning was a harbinger of what was to follow for the boys in blue. Penny issued a leadoff walk to Reggie Willits and then Orlando Cabrera followed with a double off the left field wall pushing Willits to third. Next Vladimir Guerrero popped up the right side of the infield with the ball hitting squarely into second baseman Jeff Kent’s glove and almost inexplicably fell out for an error on the play and allowing the runner to score from third. The game was still relatively close into the top of the 5th with the Angels holding a 3-1 lead when number nine hitter Andy LaRoche lined a double off third baseman Chone Figgins glove. When Figgins tried to retrieve the ball that had rolled near the dugout, he dropped it into the photographer’s well for an error allowing LaRoche to advance to third. Starter Ervin Santana then issued a walk to Rafael Furcal setting up a 1st & 3rd situation with no outs. Santana was able to escape unscathed by getting Juan Pierre to line out to second, Nomar Garciaparra looking at a controversial called strike three and Jeff Kent popping out to short. The Angels broke it open in the 6th with a series of 5 singles and 1 double scoring 5 runs and chasing Penny from the game.