Chatwood tossed seven innings of one-hit ball, fellow rookie Mark Trumbo homered and Vernon Wells added a three-run shot as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the rival Dodgers 6-1 Saturday for their second straight win in the Freeway Series.
"He was impressive, not only with his velocity and movement but with his poise," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Chatwood. "Even though he walked in a run, he was still focused in making pitches."
Chatwood (5-4) retired the first 10 Dodgers he faced before Jamey Carroll singled up the middle in the fourth. Andre Ethier then grounded into an inning-ending double play.
"Everything was right on time, the mechanics were good," Chatwood said. "It's always awesome when you're throwing strikes."
Scioscia added, "The first three innings, Tyler Chatwood looked as good as any pitcher in our league."
The right-hander allowed one run and four hits, struck out five and walked three while improving to 3-0 in his first three career interleague starts. Chatwood allowed a run for the first time in his past three road starts.
"He was utilizing his fastball and going after hitters and attacking," Angels catcher Hank Conger said. "One of the biggest differences I noticed is you can tell the composure is there. He wasn't rushing anything."
The Angels are 10-3 in their past 13 games at Dodger Stadium, and improved the AL West's only winning road record to 24-19.
They extended their lead to 6-1 in the eighth, scoring four runs with two outs. Wells' three-run homer came off Hong-Chih Kuo and Bobby Abreu added an RBI single.
Wells has seven homers and 17 RBIs in his past 24 games after struggling upon joining the Angels from Toronto in an offseason deal.
"It was a rough first month," he said. "You come over and try to do too much and sometimes that makes things worse, especially in the batter's box."
The Dodgers lost their third straight and eighth in their past 11 to fall a season-worst 10 games below .500 for the second time.
"It does feel like it's getting away from us," first-year manager Don Mattingly said. "It really just makes the road longer. We're going to have to play really well for a long stretch of time."
Hiroki Kuroda (5-9) gave up two runs and three hits in five innings, equaling his shortest outing of the season. The right-hander struck out two and walked one in extending his career-long losing skid to six games. He hasn't won since May 17 at Milwaukee.
Kuroda had a 1.82 ERA in his first four June starts, but once again, the Dodgers failed to provide decent run support.
"It's unfortunate that these type of games are continuing when I pitch, but I have to regroup and hope for the best in the next game," he said through a translator.
"I don't think anyone has given up yet. But at the same time, this is my fourth year with this organization and we've never experienced this type of situation in these four years. So I don't know how to take this situation."
Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp was ejected in the fifth inning for arguing a called third strike after he returned to the dugout.
"It was a little frustrating, but in that situation I let my team down," he said. "I can't do that. I've got to be in the game fighting with my team."
Leadoff hitter Dee Gordon dropped to 0-for-9 in the series, while Carroll had one hit in replacing struggling Juan Uribe as the No. 2 hitter in the lineup.
The Angels led 1-0 when Erick Aybar, whose two-run homer lifted them to an 8-3 win Friday night, tripled with two outs in the third, scoring Chatwood, who singled.
The Angels made it 2-0 in the fourth on Trumbo's 13th homer, which leads all AL rookies. His two-out shot landed in the Dodgers' bullpen in left field, the same place Wells' homer landed.
The Dodgers' lone run came after Kemp's ejection. James Loney and Aaron Miles singled and Trent Oeltjen walked to load the bases before Chatwood walked A.J. Ellis to force in the run. Pinch-hitter Casey Blake lined into a double play to second baseman Howie Kendrick to end the inning.
"I can't dwell on it or it's just going to snowball on you," Chatwood said. "Howie made a great play on the next hitter and got me out of the inning."
Game notes
Steve Soboroff resigned Saturday, two months after being hired by embattled Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to improve the fan experience at the stadium. He cited MLB's oversight of the team as the reason. ... Angels RF Torii Hunter missed his second straight game because of sore ribs after colliding with the wall in Florida on Wednesday. ... Dodgers OF Marcus Thames had a MRI on Saturday that confirmed his strained left calf, which he hurt legging out a double in the second inning on Friday night. He is day to day. ... Uribe, hitting .180 since coming off the DL on June 6, got the day off.
