Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2024
On a gorgeous Wednesday afternoon in Surprise, Arizona, the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered their first loss in the Cactus League. The Dodgers lost to the world champion Texas Rangers 6-to-4.
Chris Taylor led off the game with a double. A pitch hit Max Muncy’s hand but stayed in the game. Austin Barnes hit into a double play.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto made his Cactus League debut on Wednesday. After winning two Cy Young Awards in Japan, Yamamoto signed the biggest contract by a pitcher. Dave Roberts calls Yamamoto’s fastball “electric.” He has super command of his pitches, and his split-finger fastball is unhittable. His curveball is comparable to Clayton Kershaw’s in his prime. Yamamoto doesn’t look like a major league pitcher when he is five-foot-ten. The only potential problem with him from the center field camera, everyone knows when he is throwing a splitter.
His mechanics are simple and repeatable. During his two-inning stint, Yamamoto had three strikeouts and threw 16 out of 19 pitches for strikes.
Muncy is day-to-day after being hit on the hand. Although he stayed in the game to play defense, the Dodgers took out him before his next at-bat.
Daniel Hudson, attempting to return from a knee injury, performed well in his inning, but he showed good velocity and movement on his slider. He is scheduled to be on the Opening Day roster, and so far, Hudson belongs in the Dodger bullpen.
Evan Phillips made his second outing of spring training and was impressive by getting four bad swings and a bat. He hurled a perfect fifth inning.
In the fifth inning, Andy Pages clobbered a two-run homer.
Joe Kelly allowed a run because of Gavin Lux’s throwing error. He allowed another run.
In the sixth, the Dodgers threatened but didn’t score.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless sixth.
To open the seventh, Pages tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly.
Elieser Hernández was victimized by a poor play in center field. He allowed four runs. He wasn’t expected to make the major league team.
