Dodger Bats Quiet In Cactus League Opener

Dodgers  1  7  1

Dbacks    4 12 0

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The Dodger bats were cold and quiet during the club’s first exhibition game of the spring season. The club could only muster one run on seven hits, which harkens us back to the crappy first half of 2013 in which this was a regular occurrence. I almost forgot how to do a losscap, but it’s all coming back to me now.

Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) throws a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.-Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Both clubs used a DH and the Dodgers penciled in Justin Turner at that spot in the lineup. We got our first glimpses of new Dodgers Chone Figgins, and Alexander Guerrero as well. Guerrero whiffed in his first at-bat, and grounded out in his second, going 0 for 2 on the day. It’s only the first game of the spring. We’ve got a long way to go Dodger fans.

In the Cactus league opener at Salt Rivers Field, left handed ace Clayton Kershaw took the mound for the Boys in Blue against Arizona right hander Brandon McCarthy. Kershaw didn’t look particularly sharp, but was victimized by poor fielding….well we’ll just say he was victimized by Carl Crawford.

The Dbacks scored once in the top of the first, twice in the second frame, and then tacked on another run in the eighth. The Dodgers could only score once in the third, in what turned into a 4-1 Dodger loss to the Snakes. Look on the bright side, at least this game doesn’t count.

Kershaw tossed two frames, allowing three runs, on five hits, one walk, and two whiffs. After the second inning, he retired to the bullpen to get some more work in. Kershaw was followed by Javy Guerra, Seth Rosin, Jose Dominguez, and youngster Ross Stripling.

The Snakes scored the first run in the opening frame. Aaron Hill reached on a line drive single. After a Paul Goldschmidt fly ball, Martin Prado doubled in Hill on what turned out to be the first of two fly balls that Crawford muffed. That made the score 1-0 Snakes.

Diamondbacks second baseman Aaron Hill (2) scores a run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning-Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

In the second inning, the horror show in left field continued, and it led to two more Arizona runs. Gerardo Parra doubled against the center field wall, and took third on a Joc Pederson bumbling error. After a Cliff Pennington fly out, A.J. Pollack tripled over Carl Crawford’s head on a slicing line drive that Crawford horribly misplayed. Parra scored to extend the Snake’s lead to 2-0. Hill singled home Pollack and the Dbacks were up 3-0.

That was really it. The Dodgers were able to get one run in the third. Crawford of all people singled. He would score easily on a Yasiel Puig RBI double, to make it a 3-1 game. Puig would turn out to be the offensive star of the afternoon, collecting two hits, a single and a double.

Arizona starter Brandon McCarthy looked like he was in midseason form, by limiting base runners and using his skill of inducing ground-outs. McCarthy threw four frames, allowing one run on four hits, one walk, and two whiffs. The right hander induced six ground ball outs in his four frames of work.

The pitching star of the day was rookie Seth Rosin. Rosin came into the game in the fourth inning, and whiffed five consecutive batters and looked most impressive. He allowed just one hit to go along with his five whiffs. By the end of the game, it looked like a typical early spring outing, with the field littered with double-A and triple-A guys. The Dodgers would lose 4-1.

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Tomorrow afternoon the Dodgers return to Camelback Ranch for their first home game of the spring to battle the Dbacks for the second game in a row. Zack Greinke will make his spring debut, and he’ll counter Arizona youngster Randall Delgado in a 12:10 PM start time. Once again the game will be televised on Sportsnetla. Welcome back Dodger Baseball!