The Los Angeles Dodgers split their team for the first time this spring, hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks at Camelback Ranch while also traveling to Salt River Fields for a matchup with the Colorado Rockies.
The Dodgers are once again heavy favorites to win the National League West, and they proved why on Saturday, defeating the Diamondbacks, 7-4, and the Rockies, 14-2, to improve to 6-2-1 in Cactus League play.
In the home game, the Dodgers’ offense broke through for six runs in the first two innings. Gavin Lux drove in Mookie Betts with a triple in the first and then later scored on a two-run home run off the bat of Luke Raley, his first of the spring.
Raley is a former seventh-round pick of the Dodgers, although he was traded to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Brian Dozier, and then re-acquired this past offseason in the Kenta Maeda deal.
Three more runs came across in the second inning on an RBI double by Tyler right and then a two-run single by Justin Turner, giving the Dodgers a comfortable lead and allowing them to cruise to victory.
The farm system as a whole has had an impressive showing this spring, and that continued in Scottsdale, where Zach Reks hit his first home run of the year in the second inning.
The fifth inning was a special one for L.A. as they plated 11 runs, led by two home runs by Cody Thomas. The former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback is off to a monster start this spring, hitting .308 with a 1.520 on-base plus slugging percentage and four home runs in just a handful of at-bats.
Other notable RBI hits in that fifth inning included a two-run double by Kiké Hernandez, a double by Zack McKinstry, single by Jacob Amaya and three-run home run off the bat of Austin Barnes.
Barnes is also off to a strong start this spring, hitting .400 with a 1.250 OPS after going 2-for-3 on Saturday. With Russell Martin not being brought back in free agency, Barnes’ will be the team’s primary backup to Will Smith in 2020.
Walker Buehler made his first start of the spring on the mound against the Rockies and tossed a pair of scoreless innings. Ross Stripling did the same back in Glendale against the Diamondbacks.
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