The Los Angeles Dodgers closed out Spring Training with a 6-4 win over the L.A. Angels at Dodger Stadium, taking two of three games in the Freeway Series. Both victories came after L.A. dropped the series opener in Anaheim.
Even with that loss, the Dodgers put on an impressive display of power throughout the three-game set. They slugged four home runs in a 6-5 loss on Sunday, followed that with four more the next night at Dodger Stadium, then another four in the series finale.
On Tuesday the Dodgers were led by a pair of homers from Mookie Betts. They marked his first of the spring and also were notable in that both came off left-hander Jose Quintana. Betts struggled against southpaws last season, which was a break from his career statistics.
Cody Bellinger and Will Smith also went deep, marking a second consecutive game for each of them doing so. “Like I said all along, he knew it was going to be a shortened Spring Training and his focus was heightened from his first at-bat,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Bellinger.
Two-homer night for @mookiebetts? Bring on Opening Day. pic.twitter.com/wPFMgkLVVq
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 31, 2021
“I thought he’s had a good camp, his body is in great shape, he’s in great mental space, and he’s going to have a big year.”
May day
As the Dodgers were adding to their home run total, Dustin May was doing this part to keep the Angels off the scoreboard. He stranded a pair of baserunners in the first inning and didn’t allow a run until Justin Upton’s RBI single in the fourth.
May then proceeded to retire the next six batters faced to get through 5.1 innings pitched. He allowed just the one run on four hits and a walk, and collected four strikeouts.
Having been named the fifth starter in the Opening Day rotation, May will take the mound Monday for his regular season debut in the series opener against the Oakland Athletics.
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