ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Howie Kendrick drove in the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning with his third hit and Kevin Frandsen followed with a two-run double in the Los Angeles Angels' 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night in the opener of another interleague Freeway Series.
Bobby Abreu hit a tying, three-run homer in the sixth and Ervin Santana pitched seven solid innings for the Angels, who rallied from a three-run deficit for their fourth win in five games.
They also posted their fourth straight win over the Dodgers, who matched their worst skid of the season with their fifth straight loss, including three straight at Fenway Park last weekend.
Clayton Kershaw pitched five outstanding innings for the Dodgers before tiring late, and Matt Kemp hit his first homer in three weeks.
Garret Anderson went 1 for 4 as the Dodgers' No. 5 hitter and left fielder in his first regular-season game back at Angel Stadium, where the three-time All-Star became the Angels' career leader in hits, RBIs, games played and several other categories during 14 full seasons in Anaheim.
Santana (7-5) shook off a two-game losing streak to win for the sixth time in eight starts, allowing eight hits while striking out six. After Fernando Rodney barely escaped trouble in the eighth — and subsequently got ejected for arguing — Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth for his 11th save in 14 chances.
The Angels opened a 12-game homestand that ends one week before Angel Stadium hosts All-Star festivities next month with a remarkable game from Kendrick, who has been strong as a leadoff hitter and middle infielder while his teammates struggled or developed injuries.
Kendrick, a .372 career hitter against the Dodgers coming in, drove home Jeff Mathis with a two-out single in the seventh after Ronald Belisario relieved Kershaw (7-4), who gave up just one hit in the first five innings. Frandsen then hit a drive down the left-field line, scoring Brandon Wood and Kendrick.
Kendrick made a gutsy turn of a double play at second base moments later in the eighth. Wood dived to stop Kemp's grounder to shortstop and tossed it from his glove to Kendrick, who made a strong relay throw while getting flattened by Casey Blake's takeout slide.
Anderson, who also played for the Dodgers in a preseason game here, got a fairly lukewarm welcome in his return, perhaps because he's wearing Dodger Blue in Orange County after one season in Atlanta. The Angels bought out Anderson's contract in October 2008.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre shook up his lineup, moving Andre Ethier to the No. 2 slot and Kemp back to seventh in a bid to kick-start both slumbering sluggers. Ethier was batting just .197 since returning from the disabled list, while Kemp was hitting .181 in June.
Torre's moves paid off early. Ethier and James Loney had RBI singles in the third inning, and Kemp connected on a solo shot in the fourth — his first homer since June 1.
Kershaw was in control of the Angels early on, retiring nine straight after Kendrick's leadoff single. He didn't allow another hit until the sixth, when Abreu drove home Kendrick and Wood with his eighth homer.
NOTES: Dodgers knuckleballer Charlie Haeger will be activated from the disabled list in time to start Thursday in the series finale, Torre said. Haeger has missed most of the past five weeks with two injuries to his feet, and is 0-4 with an 8.53 ERA when healthy. ... Angels LF Juan Rivera led off the seventh with a double and advanced on a balk, but Dodgers C Russell Martin picked him off third base. ... Nine days earlier, the Angels swept a series at Dodger Stadium for the first time.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.