Dodgers Recap: Yoshi goes three, but Dodgers drop first game of spring

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — A couple of things to get Dodgers fans hearts thumping on Friday. First, a rivalry game with the Giants. Even in Spring Training, there’s nothing like it. Then, it was our last chance to look at World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto before he joins Shohei Ohtani and his Samurai Japan teammates in Tokyo.

Like with his countryman Roki Sasaki, we have to keep in mind that we are VERY early in Spring Training. With a pitcher like Yamamoto, who relies on pinpoint command, you expect there to be a little period where he is still zeroing in his sights. This game felt like that. He threw 51 pitches, gave up a little bit of hard contact, and the Giants touched him up for single runs in both the first and the second inning. The other Dodger pitchers pretty much got shelled in this one and the Dodgers drop their first Spring Training game of the year by a score of 12-4.

The aforementioned hard contact off Yoshi came in the first innning, with the first batter. Yamamoto fell behind Willy Adames, and then on a full-count, surrendered a leadoff home run to left on a fairly decent curveball that Adames lifted over the fence for the Giants’ first run of the day. He gave up a single to new Giant Luis Arraez (who hasn’t?), but stranded him on the bases to end the inning.

After the Dodgers scored a run in the top of the second, Yamamoto got into trouble quickly in the bottom of the inning, giving up a single and a double to Matt Chapman and Heliot Ramos. With men on second and third with no one out, he gave up a run-scoring groundout, but then hunkered down and struck out the next two Giants to leave a runner stranded at third.

The third was a much cleaner inning for Yoshi. Once again, the Dodgers tied it up in the top of the inning, and Yamamoto took to the mound hoping to for a hold. He gave up an excuse-me infield hit from Patrick Bailey, but that was the extent of the damage. Three fairly easy outs apart from that. A strikeout, a lineout (nice play by second baseman Santiago Espinal) and a groundout to Alex Freeland at short.

And that ended his day. It wasn’t perfect, but it was accepable for this stage of the season. I’m sure once he starts pitching for Team Japan he’s not going to be satisfied, but for a Cactus League game, it was fine: 51 pitches, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. Good luck (but not too much) in Japan, Yoshi! See you after the WBC.

As for the rest of the game, the Dodgers lineup felt a little undermanned in this one. Mostly prospects and guys on minor league deals playing in this one. The only guys who figure to make the big league roster in this game were Dalton Rushing, and Alex Freeland. And then a lot of guys with numbers similar to the temperature on a typical Arizona day.

And the results were pretty much what you’d expect. The Giants had two big innings and ran up twelve runs on the Dodgers. They got five in the fifth and then four more in the sixth, aided by a three-run dinger in the fifth from right fielder Victor Bericoto. So yeah, not a great day. Well, at least Yama got his work in.

Next on the Dodgers’ schedule will be a split squad day on Saturday. First, half of the Dodgers have an appointment with our newly beloved Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Chicago Cubs at Camelback Ranch. At the same, time, another Dodger squad will be across town in Surprise to take on the Texas Rangers. Not sure if PCA is going to get some AB’s on Saturday or not, but if he does, I’m sure the Dodger faithful at the Ranch will let him know how they feel. Who knows, they might even “take pictures.” Game Time, 12:05 PST. See you there!

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