All good things come to an end.
Ricky Nolasco threw six shutout innings and the Anaheim Angels snapped the Dodgers 10-game winning streak, 4-0, on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
The first game of the Freeway Series featured the former Dodger, Nolasco, whose Angels had lost the last 10 games he started.
As fate would have it, that streak also would be snapped as Nolasco (3-9) was excellent against his former team, scattering just five hits, with two walks and five strikeouts in six and 1/3 scoreless innings against arguably the best offense in baseball.
"That was a strong outing against a team that has been swinging the bats well," said Angels' manager Mike Sciosia. "That was a great game for Ricky."
Rich Hill pitched well for the Dodgers, but fell victim to the double-steal in the top of the third inning.
After a leadoff walk to Nolasco, Hill surrendered a single to leadoff hitter Cameron Maybin before getting the next two outs of the inning. However, with two outs and Yunel Escobar at the plate, Maybin and Kole Calhoun stole second and third.
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One pitch later, a single scored both runs, giving the Halos an early 2-0 lead.
Andrelton Simmons led off the fourth inning with a triple to center field after Joc Pederson got a bad jump on the ball. Simmons would score on a sacrifice fly two batters later.
Hill (4-4) finished the game giving up three runs on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in a season-high seven innings.
"It actually felt like I was myself again," said Hill of his longest start of the season. "Today I felt more like myself than any other game I've pitched the entire year so far. The velocity was maintained throughout the game and my cutter was very good today. The ball came out of my hand the way I wanted it to.
The highlight of the game came in the top of the eighth inning when Yasiel Puig threw out Calhoun trying to go first-to-third on a single by Albert Pujols.
Angels' catcher Martin Maldonado hit a solo home run off Dodgers' reliever Sergio Romo in the top of the ninth.
The Dodgers may have been a bit fatigued after a nearly five-hour affair in the sweltering heat a day earlier saw them erase a five-run deficit and defeat the Rockies, 12-6.
"I guess there's something to that," said Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts. "It's a night game after a day game, and we felt good coming in, so nobody in that clubhouse is going to use that as a reason why we got shutout tonight."
Ironically, the Dodgers also had their streak of 17 consecutive games with a home run snapped by the pitcher who has allowed the most homers in the major leagues.
"That's the game of baseball. Ricky Nolasco leads the majors in home runs given up," said Roberts. "That's the great thing about this game, and that's why we play. Tip your hat to him, he threw a good baseball game."
The 17-game homer streak was the longest in Dodger Stadium history, and the second longest in franchise history behind a 24-game streak in 1953.
LA's 10-game winning streak was the second longest streak in the majors this season, behind the Astros 11-game streak earlier this month.
Up Next:
Game two of the home-and-home Freeway series features another former Dodger in Jesse Chavez as L.A. counters with Kenta Maeda. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10PM PST.
