Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025
On a picturesque Tuesday night at Camelback Ranch, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 4-to-2. It’s two weeks until Opening Day.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is slated to be the Opening Day starter in Japan. Although he allowed a two-run homer in the first, he pitched magnificently for four innings. So far, Yamamoto has been healthy and effective in the Cactus League.
Making his Cactus League, Roki Sasaki was impressive even though he was battling nerves. He hurled three scoreless innings. While he allowed two hits and a walk, he struck out five. He had a terrific fastball, slider, cutter, and a splitter that acted like a changeup. The Dodgers need to see one more outing from one start to know if he can be the second start of the season.
Mookie Betts homered. Shohei Ohtani had a hard-hit single. Will Smith left the game with a knee injury.
Hunter Feduccia has had a great spring training. While Smith has been nursing a bruised ankle, he hasn’t been playing in many games, and now, he has a minor knee injury. Austin Barnes has had a great spring training. Since Smith hasn’t had much time behind the plate, the Dodgers need to carry three catchers at least for the Japanese series. For the last two consecutive years, Smith has had nagging injuries in the second half of the season that affected his performances.
