The return of Jered Weaver proved to be too much for the Dodgers as they fought from behind most of the night in a 4-3 loss Wednesday to the Angels.
Dodgers starter Chris Capuano pitched out of trouble in the first inning, after he walked two batters on eight straight balls, loading the bases with two outs. The Angles seemed poised to bust the game open early, but Howie Kendrick struck out to end the inning.
Control was a big issue for Capuano in his 5.2 innings pitched. He threw 40 balls in 86 pitches, walking four and giving up six hits.
In the second inning, he gave up back-to-back doubles to Chris Ianetta and Erick Aybar, scoring one run. In the fifth, Mark Trumbo hit a two-run homer scoring Albert Pujols.
Capuano was working from behind in the count during most of the game, only reaching an 0-2 count once. He was lucky to only allow three runs since he was pitching himself into difficult situations to get out of.
In the seventh, Javy Guerra allowed another run to score, making it 4-1 Angels.
Tuesday was Jered Weaver's first start since April 7 when he was placed on the disabled list with an elbow injury. He had a fantastic outing -- throwing 86 pitches in six innings, striking out seven and giving up five hits.
He had a perfect game through four innings until Andre Ethier broke it up with a lead-off double in the fifth inning.
Ethier's double looked like may go to waste as Matt Kemp and Scott Van Slyke both struck out easily, but Skip Schumaker brought him in to score with a single.
A.J. Ellis and Luis Cruz followed with singles to load the bases for Carl Crawford, but he grounded out to end the Dodgers biggest scoring threat of the night.
In the top of the ninth, Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Van Slyke both hit solo home runs, but it was not enough for the comeback as the Dodgers lost 4-3.
Gonzalez has 11 hits in his last 17 at bats with three home runs and eight RBIs. Meanwhile, in just 12 games this season, Scott Van Slyke has four home runs, nine RBIs, and eight extra base hits.
In the seventh inning Matt Kemp left the game after having a discussion with a trainer, due to a mild hamstring strain. He will undergo an MRI on Thursday.
The Dodgers send Ted Lilly out against Jason Vargas in the finale of the freeway series on Thursday. A Dodgers win would mean the first season series win against the Angels since 2006.
