The last-place Angels stunned the Dodgers with a three-game sweep over the weekend, capping off the series with a gutsy 6-4 win on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. The sweep was the Angels’ first against their Southern California rivals since 2010 and marked a potential turning point in what has otherwise been a frustrating season.

“It was just a dogfight every single game,” veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud said. “High stress, playoff atmosphere — and we prevailed in all three games. It’s very good for our confidence moving forward, knowing we can beat anybody.”

The Angels bring out the brooms on the cross town rival Dodgers

Despite entering the series with a 17-25 record and buried in the AL West standings, the Angels looked like anything but bottom feeders. They pounced early in all three games, slugged timely homers, and silenced one of MLB’s most explosive offenses. Sunday’s finale featured long balls from Zach Neto and Taylor Ward, and a gritty bullpen effort that closed the door on the defending champions.

Yusei Kikuchi gave the Angels 5⅔ solid innings, striking out seven and allowing just one run before exiting with an ankle injury. Kikuchi is still searching for his first win despite a 3.50 ERA through 10 starts, but his outing gave the Angels the cushion they needed.

After Will Smith’s three-run homer tied the game 4-4 in the seventh, the Angels didn’t flinch. D’Arnaud, who also delivered an RBI single earlier, responded with a go-ahead solo shot in the eighth. Shaun Anderson, playing for his 10th organization, locked it down in the final two innings—striking out Shohei Ohtani to end the game and complete the sweep.

“He really saved us,” Angels manager Ron Washington said of Anderson. “We needed him to do exactly what he did — give us that length — and he did it.”

Friday’s opener set the tone as Jack Kochanowicz tamed a red-hot Dodgers lineup. He induced four double plays and got 14 ground ball outs over 6⅔ innings, stifling a team that had been averaging nearly eight runs per game in its previous 18 contests.

The Dodgers never recovered. Over the three-game series, the Angels outscored them 22-11 and outhit them 34-25. They did it with timely hitting, aggressive base running, and a bullpen that—despite coming into the series with the worst ERA in baseball—held firm in crunch time.

“People only look at the record, but these guys come in every day and put in the work,” Anderson said. “To sweep them shows what this clubhouse is capable of.”

With renewed swagger and a statement sweep, the Angels may have just flipped the narrative of their 2025 season.