Dan Haren is comfortable pitching at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. After spending three seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, he returned to the ballpark on Wednesday as a member of the crosstown Los Angeles Dodgers and dazzled.
He took a perfect game bid into the sixth inning by retiring the first 16 Angels he faced in order. He ended up going 7 1/3 innings, giving up three hits and not allowing a walk as the Dodgers won 2-1.
The lone-Angel run was charged to him but scored after he was relieved in the eighth inning. Hank Conger managed the first Angel hit, and Erick Aybar scored the Angels’ only run.
Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton went a combined 0-for-12 in the game, reports The Associated Press.
Prior to this stellar performance, Haren had been struggling. In his last five starts he posted an 0-5 record with a 10.03 ERA. Since the middle on May, he accumulated a 6.04 ERA and a record of 3-8, according to The Los Angeles Times.
The second inning was when the Dodger offense did its damage. Matt Kemp got the Dodgers on the board with a 400-foot home run. Andre Ethier drove in the other run with an RBI double.