Angels rout the Dodgers, 8-1, behind Nick Tropeano's career night on mound

Dodgers left fielder Trayce Thompson fails to make a diving catch on a ball hit by the Angels' Rafael Ortega in the fifth inning.

May 18, 2016 11:30 PM PT

Nick Tropeano fired a changeup onto the outside corner, turned around, tracked the path of the ball in play, and catapulted his arms into the air, as if to signal a touchdown.

Assailed by injuries, the Angels are searching for starting pitchers they can count on. Tropeano turned in his best performance of the season on Wednesday night, making the case for his viability by shutting the Dodgers down through seven innings. His teammates wholly backed him in a decisive 8-1 victory at Angel Stadium, the Angels’ fifth win in six games.

“That game’s a lot closer than, maybe, it looked,” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Nick had to make some good pitches to make it that way.”

Tropeano did not allow his first baserunner until the fourth inning. The closest the Dodgers came until then was Yasiel Puig’s liner to center in the third, clocked at 103 mph yet easily corralled by Mike Trout.

With one out in the fourth, Tropeano tripped during his 3-2 delivery to Justin Turner and issued a walk. Corey Seager followed with a double down the right-field line, and Joc Pederson singled to left to drive in the Dodgers’ first run.

Up next, Trayce Thompson lofted a ball to short right field. It dropped in among three Angels, but also just right of the foul line — that one foot costing the Dodgers two runs.

In the fifth, Carl Crawford singled and appeared poised to score when Chase Utley laced a ball down the right-field line. When it bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double, Crawford had to stay at third, and another foot or two had cost the Dodgers an additional run.

Tropeano took his luck and stayed in the game into the seventh, even as he loaded the bases on singles to begin the inning. Scioscia expressed confidence in leaving the 25-year-old right-hander in the game, and Tropeano returned it, striking out Enrique Hernandez and inducing a double-play grounder from Turner on the perfectly-placed change.

When the play was completed, third base to second and on to first, Tropeano raised his arms in delight, knowing his night was done and he had completed the longest start of his major league career.

Trout launched a solo home run off Mike Bolsinger in the first inning, staking the Angels to an early lead. In the Angels’ half of the fourth, Johnny Giavotella hit a ball not far from where Thompson’s ball had landed, but in play, and Puig dove for it. He came up short and appeared hurt while Giavotella took second. Puig stayed in after examination, and Perez did not score after Carlos Perez and Brendan Ryan popped up balls on the infield.

“It could’ve been a frustrating night, but we kept going,” Scioscia said.

Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts pulled Bolsinger when he walked Trout with one out in the fifth inning. Louis Coleman walked Albert Pujols to load the bases, and C.J. Cron knocked a ball to Seager at short, but too far into the hole for Seager to do anything with it. A run scored.

Giavotella patted a ball to Howie Kendrick at first, and Kendrick flubbed it. Another run scored.

“Those weren’t quite happening in April,” Cron said. “It’s nice to get them now.”

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Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley takes a seat on the wall after he and right fielder Yasiel Puig couldn’t track down a foul ball hit by the Angels’ Yunel Escobar in the first inning.