LA Dodgers beat Atlanta Braves 5-4. There were a lot of little subplots to last nights' Dodgers-Braves game. The Dodger lead was slowly slipping away (6 games over the idle Giants). Former Dodger Derek Lowe was making his return to Chavez Ravine with the Braves. Which Dodger team was going to show up? Would the Dodgers help Randy Wolf get a decision? Who knew WHAT to expect. In spite of all the uncertainty, one thing is for certain. If the game is on the line and Andre Ethier is at the plate, more often than not the Dodgers are gonna win. Andre hit his fourth career walk-off homer, a 3 run shot, to give the Dodgers the win over the Braves and keep the Dodgers 6 1/2 up of the Giants in the NL West. more ›

It’s not that the Angels lacked offense in Game 1 Wednesday night in Anaheim, but like me at the end of every high school dance, they just couldn’t score. The Halos had 9 hits to Boston’s 8. However, their traditional small ball way of playing the game is not going to work against these guys…again. Hey, that’s why they went out and bagged Texiera from the Braves so they wouldn’t find themselves down a game, played at home, after finishing the season with the best record in baseball. But that was then, and this is October. Maybe someone should tell Vladimir Guerrero. more ›

Hey, did you hear something about gas prices being really high? There was something on the news and a little blurb on the inter-web the other day. So what can you do for dear ol' dad this Sunday that won't burn up your wallet and set your pants on fire like a liar, liar? Well, you can keep the car in the garage, jump on the Metrolink, and head down to Anaheim to see some hot interleague action as the Angels take on Chipper Jones (.414 BA, 15 HR) and the Atlanta Braves (32-35). more ›

With the Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Lakers (ahhhhhhh, that's nice) on hold for a week and the Blue Crew in the Big Apple taking on the Metropolitans, there's free stuff in Anaheim this weekend at Angel Stadium. The Angels (32-23) take on the Toronto Blue Jays (30-26) tonight through Sunday afternoon. Every Friday night home game ends with Big Bang fireworks which feel pretty damn close, especially if you're up in the nose bleeds. You may get a singed eyebrow or two. more ›

Yesterday was one of the toughest days in Los Angeles sports: - USC loses to Stanford 24-23. Yes, Stanford. The school with a tree mascot. The same school who went 1-11 last year, and lost their starting quarterback earlier in the week. Their coach, Jim Harbaugh, proclaimed that USC was the best team in college football history, getting some snickers from Pete Carroll throughout the week. The question before the game was whether Carroll... more ›

Angels 9, Mariners 5 - With the best record in baseball, the Halos have secured at least a tie for their third AL West crown in four years. They can close it out tomorrow night (or pretty much anytime in the next couple weeks) and be the first team in baseball to clinch a playoff birth. There were some fireworks on the field on Thursday (Vladimir Guerrero popped one out of the park) and on... more ›

Angels 18, Orioles 6 - Anaheim and Baltimore have combined for a whopping 39 runs in the past two game. The Halos had 18 last night, thanks to 13 walks and 3 errors given to them by the Orioles. Baltimore was so bad on defense that their offense hammered Kelvim Escobar for 6 earned runs in 5.1 innings and he still got the W. Vladimir Guerrero went yard, as did Brandon Wood -- for the... more ›

Giants 4, Dodgers 2 - Jeff Kent's two solo shots gave the Dodgers a lead, but it fell apart on a three run pinch-hit blast by San Francisco's Ray Durham in the eighth. Los Angeles went 7-2 against the Giants this year, both losses coming in this weekend's series. With just 18 games to go this season -- all against division rivals -- the Blue Crew sits 5.5 games behind NL West leader Arizona and... more ›

Dodgers 4, Nationals 3 - Maybe, just maybe, Los Angeles is turning things around. The Blue Crew won for the third straight game and are within 4.5 of first place. Takashi Saito has been perfect in each of those games, retiring the final three opposing batters in each contest. Andre Ethier was 0-for-3 on Tuesday night, but drove home the winning run on a sac fly. The Dodgers go for the sweep against Washington tonight.... more ›

Chivas USA 3, Galaxy 0 - It looks like the British are in a fighting mood. After being tackled hard from behind, Beckham yelled at Jesse Marsch, his attacker (err, actually defender ... no, make that midfielder). That turned into a shoving match between the teams, which grew into a full on scrap involving at least one solid punch and a nasty headbutt. Mr. Prettyboy Beckham wasn't involved in any of the physical altercations, though... more ›

Giants 4, Dodgers 2 - Maybe it's better this way. If Barry had tied (or passed) Hank Aaron in Chavez Ravine, it would have been the second time the Dodgers gave up the record breaking shot (yup, Hammerin' Hank hit 715 against the Boys in Blue). That's not to mention the riot that would have ensued. This isn't exactly the most hospitable town for any Giant, much less that Giant. It was a bigger game... more ›

Angels 7, A's 6 - Francisco Rodriguez blew a save opportunity despite a three run lead. Fortunately, he was saved by Maicer Izturis' RBI single with two out in the bottom of the ninth. Vladimir Guerrero took the day off and while the Halos generated plenty of offense without him, none of the 15 hits left the park. The team's recent home run slump coincides with Vlad's, who hasn't gone yard in 24 games despite... more ›

My what a game! In what is a preview of the World Series according to Sports Illustrated, both the Dodgers and Angels played a World Series-like game. more ›

Dodgers 5, Pirates 4 - Brad Penny was taxed for four runs in six innings, but Los Angeles cashed in with three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to keep his record at 7-1. Andre Ethier hit the two-run shot that put the Dodgers ahead for good. Grady Little watched most of the game from the clubhouse after arguing with the ump in the fourth. He's the fifth major league manager to... more ›

Ducks 2, Canucks 1, 2OT - The Ducks won the series in five games but it felt more like six. Vancouver pushed Anaheim to overtime in three of the games, two of those going into double OT. The final game featured a jaw dropping 63 shots by the Ducks, who only faced 27 in return. Roberto Luongo had 56 saves for Vancouver for a 96.6% save percentage. Five shots were blocked by Dany Sabourin who... more ›

Ducks 3, Canucks 2, OT - Trailing 2-0 in the final period, Anaheim came storming back in Vancouver. All three of the team's goals came within 20 minutes of ice time, the last one just a couple minutes after the puck was dropped in overtime. The Ducks now lead the series 3-1 and can advance with a win at home on Thursday. Dodgers 2, Diamondbacks 1 - Brad Penny is still smoking hot, hurling six... more ›

Suns 113, Lakers 100 - The Laker's season could be down to one game. The Suns outshone Los Angeles and took a 3-1 series lead thanks to huge performances from Steve Nash (23 assists, 17 points) and Amare Stoudemire (27 points, 21 rebounds). Nash's assist total was one shy off the all time playoff record, held by Magic Johnson (who was in the stands) and John Stockton. Not bad company. On the other side of... more ›

Lakers 95, Suns 89 - After getting smacked around in the first two games of the series, the Lakers were looking up at a 17 point Phoenix lead in game three. Then something snapped. Kobe went on a 45 point rampage and -- surprise! -- Kwame Brown had 19. Lamar Odom had 18, but more important were his 16 rebounds (6 on the offensive glass). Los Angeles finally has the spark of hope that sometimes... more ›

Angels 8, Mariners 4 - Virginia Tech means a lot to Joe Saunders. His uncle went there. His dad went there. His mom went there. He went there. Drafted by Anaheim in 2002, he is the only Hokie alum in pro baseball. Under the circumstances, Commissioner Bud Selig allowed him to wear his college cap for Friday's game. In his first start since the tragedy at his alma mater he pitched six scoreless innings. His... more ›

Hornets 86, Clippers 83 - Sports fans talk about "meaningless games" towards the end of the regular season. Those are contests held after a team is already in or out of the playoffs and seeding isn't a major issue. It's a common indicator of an exciting team in baseball. In this year's NBA playoff chase, the Clippers didn't play a single meaningless game. They did play roughly one meaningless quarter. Despite taking a solid lead... more ›

Dodgers 4, Giants 1 - The Dodger's success against archrival San Francisco continued on Saturday. Derek Lowe allowed one run over seven innings and Takashi Saito notched his third save. Russ Ortiz earned his 12th consecutive loss and Barry Bonds did not take the field. Former Giant Jeff Kent provided all the necessary RBIs with a two-run double in the fifth. Angels 2, Athletics 1 - The Angeles continued their hot start, matching their 5-1... more ›

Timberwolves 117, Lakers 107, 2OT - Kobe had 37 points in regulation but could only manage 3 in two overtime periods as Los Angeles fell to Minnesota. The star of the game was Timberwolves' center Mark Blount. Unlike most 7 foot tall dudes, he was able to rain down three pointers when it counted. With a trio of trays in the final three minutes, he helped the T-Wolves even up and send the game into... more ›

Going up 2-1 after a beatdown of Randy Johnson, the Angels are primed to take the series sooner than later, although Saturday’s rainout makes “later” an equally possible option. Jarrod Washburn’s experience three years ago undoubtedly gives him the edge over the talented but untested Shawn Chacon, the last person Yankee fans thought would be pitching meaningful playoff games for them after the offseason acquisitions of Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright and Johnson. more ›

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, on clinching the AL West. While we at LAist admit to a strong Dodger bias, and changing the team name didn't make us think the Angels were an LA team, we acknowledge them as a SoCal team. And we can't help but admire the work that Arte Moreno has done. more ›

The Angels blew their second straight winnable game today, losing 5-4 to the A's on a dumb mistake by Francisco Rodriguez. LAist cannot remember the last time a pitcher missed a routine throwback from a catcher, which caused a run to score. We certainly can't recall it ever happening to end a game. more ›

While LAist still thinks the Angels will wind up winning the West, Bill Stoneman and Mike Scioscia need to be very concerned about the team's hitting. The Halos are 10th in the AL in runs scored, and 13th in both On-Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage, ahead of only the Seattle Mariners. It's almost embarrassing to play 18 innings against the Blue Jays and score just one run off seven of their pitchers. more ›

But the Los Angeles of Anaheim team made a bold statement this weekend, sweeping the Dodgers, widening their first place lead, and have established themselves as today's Los Angeles bandwagon team. more ›

He may no longer be a Laker, but Derek Fisher's shot with 0.4 seconds left against San Antonio was the best thing to happen to LA sports fans all year. With every Laker annoying the hell out of the city of LA, from Shaq to Kobe to Malone to the Glove to Phil to Jerry Buss to Jeannie Buss, it was always nice to know that D-Fish was around. Sure, he couldn't defend to save his life. And he probably did take too many threes. But Derek Fisher was a consummate professional who was finally rewarded for years of hard work and humility. more ›

Guerrero is as fun to watch as any player in baseball. He plays the game like a little kid, only really freakin' well. It doesn't matter whether the ball is thrown at his head, a foot outside, or bounce in the dirt. Vlad can hit it. If he'd grown up in England, he'd be the world's best cricket player. more ›

Arte Moreno has been getting a lot of praise for opening up the checkbook this offseason, but teams like the Mets, Orioles, Rangers, and Dodgers could tell you that spending money does not always guarantee success. You have to spend wisely. more ›