The Dodgers arrived at Angel Stadium on Friday night carrying two very different emotions—and they left with a statement win.
Hours before first pitch, the team was dealt a tough blow when Blake Snell was scratched from his scheduled start and placed on the injured list with loose bodies in his left elbow. But instead of letting the news derail them, the Dodgers responded in dominant fashion, blanking the Angels 6-0.
Now sitting at 27-18, Los Angeles has won three straight and, for the first time since September 2024, claimed a Freeway Series victory over their crosstown rivals. For one night at least, the uncertainty surrounding Snell was drowned out by booming home runs and a pitching plan that turned into a masterpiece.
The Dodgers hadn’t used a bullpen game since last postseason. On Friday, they turned one into a shutout.
Right-hander Will Klein got the emergency start and looked composed from the jump, tossing two scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out two on 32 pitches. From there, Edgardo Henriquez, Blake Treinen, Wyatt Mills, Kyle Hurt, Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer, and Charlie Barnes combined to completely shut down the Angels' lineup.
Josh Lowe recorded the Angels' first hit in the second inning. Zach Neto added the only other hit with a one-out single in the seventh. That was it.
"They did a fantastic job. All of them," manager Dave Roberts said afterward.
Klein, suddenly thrust into an opener role with almost no notice, embraced the challenge.
"Really trying to go out there and put up as many zeros as you can," Klein said.
For three innings, the game drifted quietly through a scoreless stalemate before the Dodgers exploded in the fourth. Will Smith opened the inning with a single, and Kyle Tucker followed with a walk. A wild pitch pushed both runners into scoring position, setting the stage for Andy Pages.
Pages crushed the fourth pitch he saw deep over Mike Trout's head for a game-changing blast, and the Dodgers never looked back. It was the kind of night that reminds you why this team keeps finding ways to win—even when the circumstances are anything but calm.