Santiago sharp for Angels in 5-1 win over Dodgers

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hector Santiago allowed three hits and no walks over five scoreless innings, Yunel Escobar had a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Friday night.

Santiago had four strikeouts, finishing his exhibition slate with 31 in 29 innings. He was 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA in his seven starts.

"Hector got off to the earliest start of anyone this spring, so he was further ahead. That's why we shortened him today," manager Mike Scioscia said. "He had a terrific spring, and he had great stuff tonight. He didn't have many three-ball counts and got into the zone when he had to. He also had command of his secondary pitches, which is important to him."

Escobar joined the Angels last December in a trade that sent reliever Trevor Gott to Washington. He is batting .456 and has not struck out in 57 at-bats this spring.

"He's a leadoff guy-plus," said Scioscia, who used nine different hitters in the leadoff spot last season. "He brings in guys who are on base and he drives the ball. But the biggest thing that Yunel is going to do is bring that on-base (percentage) with him."

Kenta Maeda threw 49 pitches over four innings, allowing two runs and three hits with two strikeouts and no walks for the Dodgers.

The right-hander signed an eight-year, $25 million contract with the Dodgers in January after eight seasons in Japan. He was 1-2 with a 2.35 ERA in six starts this spring.

"Physically I feel great," Maeda said through a translator. "I was told to throw four innings today. I would've thrown five innings in my last spring training outing, but I think overall I'll throw more innings here than in Japan."

TAKING THE FIFTH

Right-hander Ross Stripling, a fifth-round pick by the Dodgers in 2012, has beaten out Zach Lee and Carlos Frias as the fifth starter in an injury-depleted rotation that will begin the season without Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder surgery) and Brett Anderson (back surgery). Manager Dave Roberts made the announcement Friday.

"It was tough," Roberts said. "I think all three guys are more than capable. But overall, I think it was Ross' ability to command a fastball, have a good curveball and a plus changeup to go with his slider. So he's got weapons. And when you couple that with his ability to execute a game plan, that gives us the best chance to win on that fifth day."

PICKING UP THE PACE

Angels manager Mike Scioscia promised an offense that will have considerably more balance in an effort to complement the power numbers of Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, who combined for 81 homers and 185 RBIs last year.

"Some things have been redesigned a bit," Scioscia said. "I think we'll be able to do some things and not rely on maybe one aspect of what happens in the batter's box. I think right now we have the parts that are going to make us a deeper offense and more efficient. That's going to give us a little better situational baseball look that we need, and hopefully we'll be able to have a more consistent offense."

TRAINER'S ROOM:

Angels: CF Mike Trout was out of the lineup again because of a stomach virus, but worked out on the field and took batting practice. "Right now he's just trying to get some food down," Scioscia said. "He feels better, and his weight's back where he should be because he's gotten some fluids in him. So he'll be ready to go tomorrow."... OF Daniel Nava also should be available Saturday after missing a couple of games with a sore left knee. "We're going to give another day to bounce back and get his legs under him," Scioscia said.

Dodgers: 2B Howie Kendrick, limited to 23 at-bats this spring because of a calf injury, spent Friday doing some light jogging and swinging in the cage. "As I sit here today, I'm not incredibly optimistic that he's going to start the season on the active list," Roberts said. Kendrick had been on the disabled list seven times in his 10 previous big league seasons.

UP NEXT

Angels: RHP Nick Tropeano will start the final game of the Freeway series on Saturday night when the scene shifts to Angel Stadium. The former Houston Astro made seven starts during his four stints with the Halos last season.

Dodgers: LHP Alex Wood will start the team's preseason finale. He was 5-6 with a 4.35 ERA in 12 starts with the Dodgers last season after they acquired him from Atlanta on July 30.