Watch CBS News

Pujols Hits Grand Slam To Lift Angels Past Dodgers, 6-0

ANAHEIM (AP) — Albert Pujols hit a grand slam and Andrew Heaney pitched 5 1-3 hitless innings in his last outing of the spring for the Los Angeles Angels, a 6-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.

David Freese also homered for the Angels in the middle game of the Freeway Series. Heaney struck out three and walked three in his sixth start, lowering his spring ERA from 9.00 to 7.03.

The Dodgers acquired the 23-year-old lefty on Dec. 10 in a multiplayer trade with the Miami Marlins, then dealt him to the Angels on the same day for Howie Kendrick -- the franchise leader in hits by a second baseman.

Jose Alvarez retired the last two batters in the sixth after relieving Heaney, then gave up a leadoff single in the seventh by Scott Van Slyke that broke up the Angels' no-hit bid. Fernando Salas, Joe Smith and Huston Street finished up the combined two-hitter.

Freese opened the scoring in the second, driving a 3-1 pitch from Brandon McCarthy into the left-field bullpen after Matt Joyce was hit in the leg by a pitch leading off the inning.

The Angels loaded the bases in the fifth before Pujols drove a 1-0 pitch from right-hander Pedro Baez over the fence in left-center. Pujols is hitting .291 this spring with five homers and 19 RBIs in 20 games.

Heaney, the ninth pick in the 2012 draft, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first when Yasmani Grandal flied out after a pair of two-out walks. Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson was picked off first base by former Dodgers catcher Drew Butera for the third out in the second inning after reaching on a throwing error by second baseman Johnny Giavotella.

McCarthy, who will begin the season as the Dodgers' No. 3 starter, was charged with two runs and three hits over three innings. He finished the spring 1-2 with a 6.62 ERA in five starts.

The right-hander is in the first season of a $48 million, four-year contract after spending last season with the Diamondbacks and Yankees.

SHAKING IT OFF

Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig was back in the lineup and went 0 for 3, one night after he collided with Kendrick while chasing a bloop triple by Mike Trout.

Puig was removed from that game by head trainer Stan Conte as a precaution.

"Stan told me last night that he thought he'd be fine today, so we just put the lineup card up," manager Don Mattingly said. "Usually, if something's going on, Stan would come running after me."

SUPPORT FOR HAMILTON

Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto wasn't happy about an arbitrator's ruling that LF Josh Hamilton will not be disciplined by Major League Baseball for his latest problems involving cocaine and alcohol -- but pitcher C.J. Wilson was.

"I think it's great for Josh, obviously," said Wilson, who was Hamilton's teammate for four seasons with Texas before they were reunited in Anaheim two years ago. "That gives him just a very straightforward, linear path to coming back. All he's got to do now is just focus on getting healthy. There won't be any other obstacles, which I think is a good thing. We see the drug testers in here all the time, and he probably gets tested as much as the rest of our team combined, if you think about it. He gets tested three times a week -- and that's all year round.

"Josh came forward and he admitted fault," Wilson added. "I think that's a very manly thing to do in this day and age when everyone's trying to cover up stuff and buy people off and things like that in similar circumstances. I think that just shows that Josh understands that he's under the microscope."

UP NEXT

Game 3 of the Freeway Series, with Angels LHP Hector Santiago opposing LHP Brett Anderson in the preseason finale for both clubs.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.