The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped their final exhibition game of the Tokyo Series against the Hanshin Tigers, 3-0, as they now turn their attention to the Chicago Cubs for Opening Day.
But before shifting their focus to the Cubs, the Tigers impressed the Dodgers and manager Dave Roberts. Specifically, two of their stars in Hiroto Saiki and Teruaki Sato.
Saiki pitched five shutout innings while allowing just one hit and adding seven strikeouts to just one walk. In the fourth inning, the Tigers’ rallied and it was capped off by a three-run homer from Sato against Blake Snell.
It was the second consecutive day the Tigers shut out their MLB opponent with a 3-0 win after doing the same to the Cubs the day prior.
“Really good ballclub,” Robets said. “I thought they played really good defense, they can handle velocity, good with the fastball. The starter, I thought had Major League stuff. Really good fastball, good command, good split. And then Sato, he looks the part. He’s a really impressive baseball player.”
One day earlier, the Dodgers defeated the Yomiuri Giants with a 5-1 victory, scoring all five runs against Shosei Togo in his six innings of work. The Giants did, however, end up with three scoreless innings from their relievers, which caught the attention of Roberts.
“Really good talent,” Roberts said of the NPB. “I thought we saw some good arms from the Giants, certainly out of the bullpen. I think both teams were physical.
“It’s exciting to know that they have a lot of interest in coming over to the States. We want the best players, and they clearly showed they can play at the top level.”
Dodgers scouting Hanshin Tigers players?
Last year during the Seoul Series, it was Hyeseong Kim who caught the eye of the Dodgers’ scouts and Roberts. The Dodgers ended up signing Kim when he made the jump to MLB during this offseason, so these NPB matchups could have also been an extended scouting opportunity for the Dodgers.
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