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Angels capped off Freeway Series with rare achievement over Dodgers  
Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe. Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Angels capped off Freeway Series with rare achievement over Dodgers  

The Los Angeles Angels accomplished something that's become unthinkable over the weekend. It's the Angels, not the defending World Series champion Dodgers, who own the current bragging baseball rights within Los Angeles. 

On Sunday, the Angels defeated their crosstown rival 6-4, capping off the series sweep at Dodger Stadium — their first three-game sweep in the Freeway Series since 2010.

And even though the Angels are only 20-25 following the sweep, their recent play suggests they can stay afloat as they wait for the return of Mike Trout, who has been out of action with a knee injury since April 30. 

But as Trout works to get back out on the field, his teammates dominated the Dodgers all weekend long. The Angels scored at least six runs in every game and won each game by at least two runs. 

Their biggest offensive day came on Saturday, scoring 11 as Taylor Ward, Logan O'Hoppe and Matthew Lugo all went yard. Ward, who is in the midst of a tough season and only hitting .197 overall, hit another home run on Sunday, a two-run shot, as they cracked the game wide open right away with three runs off two homers in the first inning. 

Shortstop Zach Neto started the game off with a solo shot. He finished the game going 2-for-4 and picked up five total hits throughout the series.

The Angels' third straight win over the Dodgers came despite Shohei Ohtani having his best day of the series. Ohtani was 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI a day after going 0-for-6. The former Angel and two-time MVP only registered two RBI all weekend. He's now hitting .313 with 16 home runs and 30 RBI in 45 games.

Los Angeles will now look to get out of the basement of the American League West as it travels to Sacramento to take on the Athletics in a series that starts Monday night. 

Sitting one game behind the Athletics, another series, and certainly another sweep, would flip-flop the two teams in the standings. 

Mike J. Asti

Mike Asti is an experienced media personality and journalist with a vast resume and skillset, most notably from time with TribLIVE Radio and WPXI-TV. Asti now serves as the Managing Editor of WV Sports Now, where he leads the coverage of WVU sports. He has also covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and other teams within the Pittsburgh market

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