Dustin May had what he called his best start of Spring Training, and Will Smith and Matt Beaty each contributed at the plate to help lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.
The Dodgers didn’t have their first baserunner of the game until Justin Turner’s two-out walk in the fourth inning. Prior to that point Cubs starter Adbert Alzolay had struck out five of the first 11 batters faced in the game.
After the Cubs lost a foul ball to extend Cody Bellinger’s at-bat, he doubled down the first-base line. Smith then broke up the scoreless tie with a two-run single into center field that easily got through because the Cubs had shifted him to pull.
Smith added to his RBI total in the sixth inning on a fly ball that dropped in shallow right field in part due to the wind and because Jason Heyward was positioned deep.
.@matt_beatybu got all of that one. 💥 pic.twitter.com/aUKoyUMiHK
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) March 26, 2021
Corey Seager’s RBI groundout with the bases loaded extended the Dodgers’ lead in the seventh inning and Matt Beaty’s solo homer provided more insurance in the ninth. The home run was Beaty’s first of the spring and gives him some momentum as Cactus League play winds to a close.
Manager Dave Roberts recently said Beaty had “earned” a spot on the bench as part of the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster.
May Day
May’s start against the Cubs was a third time pitching on a five-day routine. The five innings of work also marked his longest outing of the year. May held the Cubs to just one run on two hits and collected six strikeouts. He regularly hit triple digits, including a 101 mph fastball.
“I just go out there and throw it,” May said. “That’s what comes out. It feels good to look back and see a high number, but it’s not like I can control how hard I throw or not. I just throw it.”
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