LOS ANGELS (AP) — If the Los Angeles Angels turn around during the season, the Dodgers’ incredible scan could be seen as a turning point.

The last Angels beat the defending World Series champion 6-4 on Sunday, and the later bullpen tripped when Travis D'Arnad defeated a solo home run with a tiebreak rebound in eighth place.

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"It's huge," said D'Arnaud, who also hit the RBI single in the third inning. “Every game here feels like the playoff atmosphere. Everyone is passing the baton and hitting the ball up and down the lineup.

"It's just a melee in every game, the pressure is very high, and we have the upper hand in all three games. It's really special compared to last year's world champion. It's very good for our confidence to know we can beat anyone."

Angels (20-25) finished last in Al West, trailing six games from Seattle’s first game. Their first three games against the Dodgers (29-18 since 2010) gave them at least a silver lining to hope that they could bounce back into a scramble. The Dodgers have not been swept since last July in Philadelphia.

Angels beat the Dodgers in the first two games, hitting .307 (23 for 75), with 17 runs, 4 home runs and 8 doubles. Zach Neto's solo Homer and Taylor Ward beat Tony Gonsolin with two shots to beat left-handed Yusei Kikuchi with a 3-0 first inning lead on Sunday.

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Kikuchi was enough to win, giving up a run and three hits, hitting seven times in 5 2/3, hurting his right ankle in the first base collision with Tommy Edman.

Kikuchi left with a 4-1 lead but had to settle down after Shaun Anderson gave up on Will Smith's three-inning home run and tied for 4-4 in seventh place. Despite having 3.50 ERA in 10 games, Kikuchi is 0-4.

One afternoon, Angels set guys Ryan Zeferjahn and Kenley Jansen were not available in every game in the first two games, but Anderson took on the role of Setup Man and Close.

The 30-year-old right-hander, who has played for 10 different organizations since drafting in 2016, ended the match with a strikeout from 2024 National League MVP Shohei Ohtani in an orderly manner in the eighth and ninth games.

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“He really saved us,” Angel Manager Ron Washington said. "When he came in (after the seventh inning), I told him that the game was his. He walked there and did a great job and finally got Ohtani in the last game of the game. We needed him to do exactly what he did, he did what he did - give us so long - he did."

Anderson (1-0) attributed his victory to Sunday's entry into the MLB 7.04 ERA with an explosion of savings and a bullpen.

"To come in and sweep them away, it shows the angels possession, you know?" Anderson said. "It's hard to see our records, but these guys are working every day, preparing for work, post-match production, getting to the yard as early as possible. ...These guys want to win, and when you walk into the meeting room, you can see it completely. Seeing us rally and winning the last three games, it can show here what we can do here."

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