Zach Neto hit a pair of home runs, including his eighth leadoff homer of the season, and the Los Angeles Angels built a seven-run lead before holding off a late rally to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7–4 on Monday night at Angel Stadium. Entering the matchup as +140 underdogs, the Angels improved to 4–0 in the 2024 Freeway Series and handed the defending World Series champions their 12th loss since the All-Star break.
Neto, who reached base five times, opened the scoring by sending Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s first pitch of the game 418 feet into the left-field seats for his 18th home run. The shortstop added a solo shot in the sixth inning, marking his third career multi-homer game.
Angels starter José Soriano delivered one of his strongest outings of the season, holding the Dodgers to just two singles over six scoreless innings. Soriano walked two, struck out five, and improved his record to 8–9. The Dodgers managed only one baserunner in scoring position against him.
Yamamoto, meanwhile, endured one of his roughest starts since arriving in the majors. The right-hander allowed six runs on six hits and five walks in 4 1/3 innings, falling to 10–8 on the season. His command issues in the fifth inning helped the Angels break the game open.
Bryce Teodosio and Neto reached base in the fifth before Mike Trout delivered a bases-loaded single to drive in two runs. Yoán Moncada and Gustavo Campero each added RBI singles later in the inning, chasing Yamamoto from the game and giving the Angels a 6–0 lead. Neto’s second home run in the sixth stretched the margin to seven runs.
The Dodgers mounted a late comeback attempt in the eighth inning. Shohei Ohtani, facing his former team, hit a solo home run to right field for his 42nd of the season and his third straight game with a homer. Ohtani extended his hitting streak to 10 games and has nine hits, including four home runs, in the Dodgers’ last five contests. Max Muncy followed with a three-run homer that cut the Angels’ lead to 7–4.
The rally ended when Connor Brogdon entered in relief and recorded the final out of the inning. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth, securing his 22nd save in 24 opportunities.
The game was briefly halted in the eighth inning when Campero collided with the short right-field wall while attempting to catch Muncy’s drive. He was carted off the field with an apparent lower-body injury.
The Dodgers’ loss, combined with San Diego’s win over San Francisco, reduced their lead over the Padres in the NL West to one game, the smallest margin since mid-June. Los Angeles is now 10–12 since the All-Star break.
The series continues Tuesday night. Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan (3–2, 3.00 ERA) will start opposite Angels reliever Victor Mederos, who will serve as the opener in a bullpen game after scheduled starter Tyler Anderson was scratched due to a back injury.