Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier sits out series finale with Angels

The Dodgers had a four-run lead going into the third inning Sunday. Their starting pitcher, Chad Billingsley, had not given up more than three runs in any of his nine starts this season.

Nothing added up the rest of the way for Billingsley or the Dodgers, except the Angels’ runs. The Angels pecked away at the Dodgers’ most steady starter, scoring two runs in the third and three more in the sixth on the way to a 10-7 victory at Dodger Stadium.

The free-swinging Angels aren’t known for patience, but they exhibited plenty against Billingsley (6-2) while preventing the right-hander from becoming the National League’s first seven-game winner.

“They had a good approach to me today,� said Billingsley, who gave up a season-high five runs -- four earned -- and nine hits in six innings. “I would get ahead of hitters and I just couldn’t get them to chase the curveball. They would battle back to even the count and they were able to get a pitch they could handle.�

Robb Quinlan and Chone Figgins hit run-scoring singles in the third inning, and the Angels opened the sixth by putting their first four batters on base. Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera had RBI singles during the inning and Kendry Morales drove in a run with a fly ball.

“He was fighting it today,� Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said of Billingsley. “It wasn’t his best day, let’s put it that way.�

--

Hudson OK

Second baseman Orlando Hudson was momentarily down but not out after a seventh-inning collision with right fielder Jamie Hoffmann, whose elbow knocked Hudson in the head when the pair converged on Morales’ pop-up.

Hudson made the catch before falling to the ground.

“He’s a big boy,� Hudson said of the 6-foot-3, 235-pound rookie. “Of course he knocked me down.�

Was it a rookie mistake?

“Anybody could have done that,� Hudson said. “Me and [Andre] Ethier have done that before. I’ve done that with the best in the game. It happens.�

Hudson stayed in the game and extended his career-high hitting streak to 14 games with an infield single in the eighth. He doubled in the ninth and is hitting .361 during the streak.

--

Cameo appearances

Shortstop Rafael Furcal and Ethier did not start but were pressed into duty with the Dodgers trailing in the late innings.

Ethier, who cracked the nail on the big toe of his right foot Saturday when he was hit by a pitch from John Lackey, struck out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning.

Furcal entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth and grounded into a fielder’s choice before remaining in the game at shortstop. Juan Castro started the game at short and went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts.

Torre said he resisted the urge to give catcher Russell Martin a day off in part because the Dodgers will play four day games on the trip that begins today in Colorado. Torre said backup catcher Brad Ausmus would start one of the games against the Rockies at Coors Field.

--

Close call for Schmidt

A line drive grazed Jason Schmidt’s head Saturday during the third inning of his first rehabilitation start for triple-A Albuquerque, but the right-hander was not seriously injured.

“He was fine,� Torre said. “He never lost consciousness or anything. He came out of the game and it broke the skin, but that was about it.�

Schmidt, recovering from shoulder surgery that has sidelined him since the 2007 season, gave up five hits and two runs in 2 2/3 innings. He had no walks or strikeouts.

Torre said he expected Schmidt to make his next rehab start in five days unless he experienced headaches as a result of the blow.

--

[email protected]

--

DODGERS TODAY

AT COLORADO

When: noon PDT.

Where: Coors Field, Denver.

On the air: TV: Channel 9; Radio: 790, 930.

Probable pitchers: Eric Stults vs. Jorge De La Rosa. Tuesday: Eric Milton (0-0, 4.50) vs. Aaron Cook (3-1, 4.68). Wednesday: Clayton Kershaw (2-3, 4.32) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (3-5, 4.25).

Update: Stults will pitch in the series opener after having recovered from the sprained left thumb that forced him to miss his last scheduled start Wednesday against the New York Mets. In his last start, May 15 against Florida, Stults did not get a decision after giving up three runs in five innings. The left-hander also did not get a decision after giving up three runs in five innings in his April 24 start against Colorado at Coors Field. De La Rosa is coming off his worst game of the season, a 3 2/3 -inning outing against Atlanta in which he gave up seven runs.

-- Ben Bolch