Dodgers Fall to the Angels, Who Hit 3 Homers off Struggling Bobby Miller

LA Dodgers

By Associated Press

Published 8 months ago on

September 5, 2024

Mickey Moniak hit a three-run homer and Griffin Canning pitched 6 2/3 strong innings in the Angels' 10-1 victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday night. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)

Moniak's three-run homer and Canning's 6 2/3 strong innings lead Angels to decisive victory over MLB-leading Dodgers.
Bobby Miller struggles again for Dodgers, allowing seven runs including three homers, raising doubts about postseason role.
The Dodgers haven't named a starting pitcher for the opener of a six-game homestand Friday vs. Cleveland.

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ANAHEIM — Mickey Moniak hit a three-run homer and Griffin Canning pitched 6 2/3 strong innings in the Los Angeles Angels’ 10-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night.

Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 4, finishing his two-game return to Angel Stadium 1 for 8 with an RBI triple and two runs scored on Tuesday.

Up Next

Dodgers: No starter has been announced for the opener of a six-game homestand Friday that begins against Cleveland.

Angels: Jack Kochanowicz (2-3, 4.96 ERA) takes the mound Thursday in Arlington to open a four-game series with the Texas Rangers.

Angels’ Offense Explodes Against Miller

Taylor Ward homered in his third straight game, and rookie Niko Kavadas also went deep in the long-struggling Angels’ second victory over the major league-leading Dodgers in their last 14 meetings. The rivals split the four-game Freeway Series this season.

Bobby Miller (2-4) had another rough outing for the Dodgers, who lost for only the fourth time in 16 games. He yielded seven runs on five hits — including the three homers — and three walks over five innings despite striking out eight.

“It’s kind of hard to put into words, but recently I’ve been feeling really good, and I still felt really good today,” Miller said. “Besides the first inning, there was a lot of good in there. Just a couple of good fastball hitters. Just a couple of bad pitch selections.”

Miller has spent all summer attempting to regain the form of his impressive rookie season, and he seems increasingly unlikely to be in the Dodgers’ postseason plans after allowing 17 earned runs in four starts since returning from the minors to patch another hole in his club’s injury-plagued rotation.

Manager Dave Roberts sounded disappointed in the Dodgers’ young right-hander, although he said Miller will start again next week.

Canning Shines for Angels

“I don’t think they sequenced well tonight,” Roberts said of Miller and catcher Austin Barnes. “I don’t think they used his secondary pitches the right way to protect the fastball. Very predictable to an aggressive, fastball-hitting team. … Where we’re at right now with certain players, Bobby in this particular case, performance matters. It’s just got to be better. He knows that. You just can’t come out there and give up five runs and put us behind the eight ball.”

Canning (5-12) had another high point in his up-and-down season, yielding four hits and four walks while striking out seven and holding the Dodgers scoreless until the seventh. The victory was Canning’s first since Aug. 4.

“Canning was outstanding. Tonight was about him,” manager Ron Washington said. “Good fastball, moving it around. Good off-speed stuff.”

Angels’ Offense Erupts Early

The Angels’ first five batters reached base and scored. After Anthony Rendon bounced a bases-loaded single up the middle to score two runs, Moniak hit Miller’s next pitch to deep right.

Kavadas added his second major league homer in the second inning.

“It would be nice to finish the rest of the season swinging the bats (like that),” Washington said.

Ward connected for his 21st homer of the season in the fifth inning, putting the Angels up 7-0 while extending his hitting streak to a career-best and current AL-best 14 games. Late in a largely disappointing season, Ward has homered in four of his last five games.

The Dodgers pulled Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández and Miguel Rojas in the late innings, giving them a few extra innings of rest ahead of Thursday’s day off.

Andy Pages finally chased Canning with an RBI single in the seventh, driving in his first run in nearly three weeks.

Ward, Jo Adell and Zach Neto added RBI singles for the Angels in the eighth.

Angel Stadium was sold out for the second straight night, giving the Halos five sellouts this season.

Trainer’s Room

Dodgers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto will return to the rotation Tuesday after missing nearly three months with a right arm injury, Roberts said.

Angels: First-round pick Christian Moore has a torn meniscus in his left knee. The team plans to treat the injury conservatively, but Moore possibly could return to play for Double-A Rocket City this season.