Angels Stake Their Claim After a 6-4 Win

The Angels are so eager to get their season going that most of their players showered, dressed and left the clubhouse Sunday before reporters got there. Pitcher Paul Byrd, however, was kind enough to leave behind the transcript of an interview he conducted with himself.

Byrd wrote out his answers, then taped the piece of paper to his locker. He offered quotes to fit several topics, including a reply under the heading “Confrontational Quote.”

“This was a big series,” he wrote, “considering we’re both from the same town ... L.A.”

And so the Angels skipped merrily out of Dodger Stadium, after a 6-4 victory over the Dodgers and a Freeway Series sweep for the second consecutive spring. The Angels, whose performance on the field will do far more to earn an embrace from Los Angeles than any name change, posted a 21-11 spring record, best of any team in the majors.

On Sunday, they scored four runs in the seventh inning -- three on a home run by Curtis Pride -- and another in the eighth, on a home run by Mike Napoli. The Dodgers also hit two home runs -- back-to-back in the fourth inning, by Jason Repko and Hee-Seop Choi off Byrd.

Under “Funny Quote,” Byrd wrote: “I just wanted to make sure, before the season starts, that the fastball out over the plate is still a bad pitch. You never know when this game might change.”

Angel kidding aside, the Dodgers were particularly encouraged by the home run from Choi, whose combination of power and patience compelled General Manager Paul DePodesta to get him in the trade that sent Paul LoDuca and Guillermo Mota to the Florida Marlins last July.

Choi did not hit a home run for the Dodgers last year, but he led the team this spring in home runs (four) and walks (13).

The Dodgers finished the spring at 13-15, with three ties and four rainouts.