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Aybar powers Angels over Dodgers

Jun 25, 2011 - 6:07 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Erick Aybar had three hits, including a two-run homer, to lead the Angels past the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-3, and begin a three-game interleague series.

Dan Haren (7-5) went six innings, allowing three runs on 10 hits and a walk in the Angels' fourth victory in five games.

Rubby De La Rosa (3-2) allowed five runs on nine hits and four walks while fanning six through six innings to take the loss, the Dodgers' second straight after a three-game win streak.

"Rubby struggled with his command at times. He got a little frustrated tonight," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said about his starter.

The Dodgers jumped out to an early lead on Matt Kemp's two-run homer in the first inning.

The Angels got a run back in the second on Haren's RBI single. Alberto Callaspo walked to lead off the frame and moved to second two batters later on Mark Trumbo's base hit to right field. But Trumbo was picked off at first by catcher Dioner Navarro during a Jeff Mathis at-bat before Mathis worked a walk, robbing a bases-loaded opportunity for the Angels.

Haren came up next and lined a ball into right to bring home Callaspo. During the play, Mathis was thrown out at third by Andre Ethier as he tried advancing on the hit, ending the inning.

The Angels then took the lead in the fifth. Mathis walked and moved to second on Haren's sacrifice bunt before scoring on a Maicer Izturis double. Aybar came up next and hammered a ball over the right-field fence to give the Angels a 4-2 advantage.

Ethier doubled to lead off the fifth, advanced to third on James Loney's base hit and crossed the plate on a Tony Gwynn Jr. fielder's choice.

But Howie Kendrick homered with two outs in the sixth to give the Angels their two-run cushion back. It could have been a two-run shot, but during Kendrick's at-bat Vernon Wells was caught stealing second.

The Angels increased their lead in the eighth due to a costly error. Aybar singled off Hong-Chih Kuo to start the inning and Peter Bourjos followed with a bunt toward the right side of the mound. Loney fielded the ball but threw it past second baseman Jamey Carroll, who was covering first. The ball rolled all the way to the stands, allowing Aybar to round the bases and Bourjos to reach third.

Blake Hawksworth later allowed Callaspo to single in Bourjos, and in the ninth, Bobby Wilson's pinch-hit sacrifice fly gave the Angels an 8-3 lead.

It was game full of missed opportunities for the Dodgers. They had runners tagged out at home plate in the second and fourth innings, and also left the bases loaded in the third.

In addition to those chances, they stranded a runner on second in the second, fifth and sixth innings and left eight on base overall. They went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

"It was a circus out there. I pitched out of a some jams," said Haren. "I struggled to put guys away. I'm just glad we won."

It was just the opposite for the Angels. They finished 5-for-6 with men in scoring position and stranded just two.

Game Notes

Dodgers left fielder Marcus Thames left the game in the second inning with a strained left calf...The Angels improved to 7-3 on their season-long 12-game road trip while the Dodgers fell 3-7 during their season-long 12-game homestand...The Angels have won nine of the last 12 games at Dodger Stadium and improved to 47-34 all-time against the Dodgers.