Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Confident Angels tell Dodgers to hit the freeway

ANAHEIM -- The tone was established Sunday morning, when a parking-lot attendant proudly displayed a broom at his Orangewood Avenue-entry booth and beamed about a sweep.

Over the weekend, the celebration of last year's accomplishments was finally put to rest as Angels fans were given ample reason to begin another round of hope.

Against that team from the other side of the tracks, no less. Anaheim's 3-1 victory against the Dodgers capped a sweep that reinforced its Southern California supremacy.

"We came here, and they were ready for us," said Dodgers closer Eric Gagne.

Angels starter Aaron Sele, Sunday's winner, has won all five of his career starts against the Dodgers, and Anaheim's first sweep since early May boosted them above .500, to 40-39.

It is six games off last season's pace and 6 1/2 off the American League wild-card stride of the Boston Red Sox.

"Our confidence seems to be building," said Anaheim starter Kevin Appier, who defeated the Dodgers twice in a week. "We haven't been living up to our potential, but this series went much better for us."

It was disastrous for the Dodgers.

San Francisco took two of three from Oakland to establish a three-game lead over the Dodgers (45-35) in the National League West, and the "Baby Backs" of Arizona (44-36) have won 11 in a row to creep within a game of Los Angeles.

Worse, until Mike Kinkade's solo home run in the ninth inning Sunday, the Dodgers had tallied only one run in the 26 innings against the Angels. They started Sunday with a batting average of .245 and 276 runs scored, both NL-worst figures.

Lucky for them that Detroit is still playing baseball. The Tigers (18-61) are poised for infamy as the game's all-time worst team, having hit .225 and scored only 244 runs.

"The story line is similar," said Dodgers manager Jim Tracy. "We didn't hit enough to win the game ... we know where our problem area is."

For NL West teams, that would be Edison, where the Dodgers are 3-9 since 2000. Remember, the Giants lost three of four World Series games here, including the last two.

The Dodgers were watching.

"I was happy for them, really," said Dodgers outfielder Brian Jordan. "Growing up, for me, (Angels manager) Mike Scioscia was one of those guys that I really liked. He did a great job managing last year. When underdogs like that come through, it's good to see."

Longtime Angels officials were as happy to see something different in the stadium this weekend, because this interleague series in Orange County has typically been a convenient road show for the Dodgers.

Most games have been marked by at least half of the fans -- to be generous -- wearing blue and cheering for the visitors.

However, it was mostly locals-only this weekend, when they set a season high Saturday with 43,726 and then topped that Sunday with 43,766. More than 130,000 watched the sweep.

The Angels are on pace to welcome 3 million through their turnstiles for the first time.

"I think it's more of a rivalry in the stands than it is between the players ," Gagne said. "It's not like it is with the Giants, but it's still fun to come here. It's close to home and they're world champions.

"You always want to beat the best, and they're the best."

In the bullpen beyond the left-field fence, Gagne was almost in awe of his surroundings. He said the atmosphere was awesome.

"Unbelievable, because the fans were so into it," he said.

"It is a big rivalry," Jordan said. "There's that controversy, whether you're a Dodgers or Angels fan. Like New York. You're either a New York Yankees fan or a New York Mets fan. It's the same way here, too. It's been great."

Neither the rally monkey nor the ThunderStix were needed Sunday afternoon. No doubt Arturo Moreno, though, toured his new playground to find out how comfortable his customers were and what other amenities could be offered to them.

Nearly a self-made billionaire, the man who bought the Angels last month implores everyone he meets to call him "Arte." Friday, he wore an untucked white cotton shirt and khaki pants, easily fitting in with his crowd.

He had no time for an interview outside an elevator, then went about his daily ritual. For a few innings every game, he tours Edison to talk to the fans. He has already lowered the price of beer, other concessions, certain souvenirs and assorted seats.

Arizona broadcaster Joe Garagiola talked with Moreno earlier this season at Bank One Ballpark.

"I told him, 'I'm glad to see business people like you, and (Diamondbacks owner) Jerry Colangelo, get into baseball, rather than guys who buy it as a lark,' " Garagiola told the Sun. "Guys like Moreno worked from nothing to become millionaires and billionaires."

And guys like Scioscia don't carry an ounce of sentimentality about sweeping a team whose uniform he wore from 1980-92. He was an All-Star catcher twice, and he helped the Dodgers win the World Series in 1981 and '88.

It's the same organization that unceremoniously sacked him, during a tumultuous period of ownership change and Kevin Malone's notorious run as general manager, after he managed Triple-A Albuquerque in 1999.

Scioscia went straight to the Angels, who have been thanking their area rivals ever since.

Late Sunday afternoon, Scioscia reiterated his mantra, that a game is a game is a game, and it's not who the Angels play or where they play that matters, "it's how we play," he said.

He added that he will forever be grateful for the baseball foundation he received from the Dodgers for more than 20 years.

"But I'm extremely excited about the opportunity here and where this organization is going," he said. "It's been a lot of fun. Hopefully, it will keep being fun."

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