Zack Greinke starts Dodgers opener vs. Angels

The Dodgers open their final interleague series of the season, battling the Angels in Anaheim with a few conflicting streaks in play.

The Dodgers have beaten the Angels six straight times for the first time ever, which includes two games in Anaheim in 2014. But the Dodgers are 0-7 this season in American League parks this season, and since interleague play began in 1997 are 60-97 (.382) in road games.

Zack Greinke gets the call in the series opener, having allowed all of 35 runs in 27 starts this season. Eleven of those runs have come in the first inning, though five of those were on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia.

Since that start against the Phillies, Greinke has allowed just one first inning run, and five runs total in five starts, four of which have been Dodgers wins.

Greinke is pitching on five days rest on Monday, the 14th time in 28 starts he will have more than four days rest in 2015.

With exactly four days rest, Greinke is 9-1 with a 0.94 ERA, a 27.1-percent strikeout rate and 3.9-percent walk rate.

With five or more days rest, Greinke is 6-2 with a 2.27 ERA, a 20.4-percent strikeout rate and 5.2-percent walk rate.

It just seems absurd that that second line is the "bad" version of Greinke this year.

Since getting swept by the Dodgers in three games at Dodger Stadium, the Angels are just 14-18 and their offense has collapsed. In those last 32 games the Halos are hitting just .231/.293/.358 and averaging 3.44 runs per game, including two runs or less 15 times.

The Angels have shown some signs of life in September, scoring 28 runs in five games and winning four of five games. They enter play 2½ games behind the Rangers for the second American League wild card spot, with the Twins in between them.

Unsurprisingly, the Angels' fortunes tend to get swayed by the amazing Mike Trout, who was dealing with a wrist injury for the better part of the last month that rendered him rather ordinary, hitting just .218/.352/.337 with one home run in 29 games in August.

But September Trout seems quite healthy so far, hitting .353/.455/.706 with a home run, a triple and a double in five games.

Trout is 5-for-10 with two triples and a double against Greinke, including 2-for-3 with a triple on July 31.

"Trout's done incredible against me, always," Greinke said after that July start.

Game info

Time: 6:05 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA, Fox Sports West, MLB Network