Dan Haren tries to turn things around against Angels

ANAHEIM -- With the Dodgers' horrific history in Anaheim and the team sticking with a completely ineffective Dan Haren in the starting rotation, Wednesday night just might feature the club's lowest win expectancy of the season. The Dodgers and Angels resume their Freeway Series on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium.

Haren is 0-5 with a 10.03 ERA in his last five starts, with six home runs allowed in 23⅓ innings.

The last Dodgers pitcher to drop six straight starts was Hideo Nomo, who circled the drain for an eight-start stint in 2004. Nomo was 35 that year, turning 36 near season's end, and his ERA during that streak was 9.79.

Amazingly, Nomo stuck around for parts of two more seasons, plus three more appearances in 2004. His ERA over those final 116 innings of his career, all which came directly after the eight-start losing streak, was 8.07, with 22 home runs allowed.

Haren is 33, turning 34 near season's end, perhaps not quite yet at the end just year, but it's not like this five-game skid came out of nowhere.

After opening the season with only two home runs allowed in seven starts, Haren has allowed home runs in 14 of his last 15 starts, 20 total during that span. In those 15 starts he has a 5.68 ERA and opposing batters are hitting .289/.328/.531 during that span, in 363 plate appearances.

To top that off, Haren hasn't made it through five innings in three of his last four and four of his last seven starts. He has averaged 4.95 innings in those last seven starts, and that includes his best start of the season, allowing one hit in seven innings to the Indians on June 30, which seems like ages ago now.

Howie Kendrick is 5-for-14 (.357) with a double against Haren. a Albert Pujols is 4-for-15 with a home run, a double and two walks against Haren (.267/.353/.533), Josh Hamilton is 6-for-21 with a home run, a double and a walk (.286/.318/.476), and Chris Iannetta is 4-for-17 (.235) with a double. David Freese is 2-for-9 (.222) with a walk against Haren.

Andre Ethier, essentially buried on the bench of late with one start and nine plate appearances in the last 12 games, has struggled mightily when he has played, in slumps of 0-for-10 and 5-for-40. Though currently logistically impossible, maybe Haren is the key for Ethier to snap out of it. After all, Ethier is 21-for-50 with five doubles and two home runs against Haren, hitting .420/.442/.640.

Dodgers designated hitters this season are 9-for-31 with four doubles and five walks, hitting .290/.378/.419. Hanley Ramirez has started four of the eight games at DH, with Ethier, Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Adrian Gonzalez starting one game each at the position.

Matt Shoemaker gets the start for the Angels. The 27-year-old right-hander is 9-3 with a 4.09 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 15 walks, including 5-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 11 games at home, including seven starts, with 53 strikeouts and 11 walks in 50⅔ innings.

The Angels at 38-19 own baseball's best home record, and they have won 24 of their last 30 games in Anaheim.

The Dodgers at 34-23 have the third-best road record and the best in the National League.

Game info

Time: 7:05 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA, Fox Sports West