Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Zack Greinke delivers against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning on Monday in Los Angeles.
Garrett Richards pitched a five-hitter, Mike Trout and Pujols had RBI doubles in a four-run first inning, and the Los Angeles Angels opened the Freeway Series with a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.
Richards (12-4) was dominant in his first nine-inning complete game, striking out nine and retiring 15 of 16 in the middle innings with a fastball regularly hitting 98 mph. He finished his first victory in four starts by getting pinch-hitter Andre Ethier on a groundout with his 122nd pitch.
‘’That’s faith in me, and that’s important to me,’’ Richards said. ‘’Going back out (for the ninth), I was just worried about winning the ballgame.”
Richards even outpitched Zack Greinke (12-7), who yielded six hits and three earned runs in seven innings despite giving up just two hits after that messy first inning.
A day after scoring five runs in the first inning at Tampa Bay, the Angels had another quick start on the road. They led 4-0 after four hits, two unearned runs, two wild pitches by Greinke and two horrible fielding misplays from Carl Crawford and Hanley Ramirez.
‘’(Greinke) just made two mistakes to two really amazing hitters, and they made him pay for those mistakes,’’ Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said. ‘’After that, he was lights out.”
Richards took control from there, allowing just one runner to reach third base.
‘’He is driven,’’ Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ‘’Garrett wants to be good. He has a lot of confidence in what he can do.’’
Josh Hamilton homered in the sixth for the Angels, who improved the majors’ second-best record to 67-44 with their seventh win in 10 games.
Elsewhere, Caleb Joseph had two hits and three RBIs and J.J. Hardy had a season-high four hits and scored twice as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Nationals 7-3 in the last of four regular-season games between the two nearby rivals.
Number eight hitter Joseph, a catcher who hit a homer in the second inning, had a two-run single in the eighth against reliever Craig Stammen to give the Orioles a 7-3 lead.
Hardy, a shortstop batting sixth, entered the game with just seven hits in his last 34 at bats.
The game was a makeup of a July 8 rainout.
The Orioles (63-48) won three of four games this year against the Nationals (60-50), who have lost five of their last eight overall.
Brandon McCarthy continued his resurgence by winning his fourth straight start as the New York Yankees opened a four-game series with a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
McCarthy (4-0) also improved to 5-0 over his last six starts after winning one of his first 16 starts with Arizona. He lowered his earned-run average as a Yankee to 2.08 after allowing an unearned run and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann had RBIs for the Yankees (58-53). Detroit (61-48) starter Max Scherzer (13-4) tossed seven innings in the loss.
Corey Kluber made another outstanding start, and Lonnie Chisenhall and Yan Gomes homered to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 7-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
The Indians (57-55) earned their fourth win in a row. The Reds (56-56) dropped back to the .500 mark.
Kluber (12-6), who did not allow an earned run while tossing complete games in each of his previous two starts, allowed one run on six hits and two walks in 7 1/3 innings.
Pablo Sandoval’s RBI ground-rule double with two outs in the ninth snapped a tie and lifted the San Francisco Giants to a 4-3 win.
The Giants (61-51) took three of four in the weekend wraparound series to maintain their grip on the first National League wild card. The Mets (53-59) suffered their first series loss at home since June 10-12 against Milwaukee.
Sandoval finished the day 3-for-5 with three RBIs.