Brandon McCarthy was relatively effective through four innings in his final tuneup of Spring Training, and the Los Angeles Dodgers wrapped up the exhibition Freeway Series with a tie against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Dodger Stadium.
Corey Seager immediately made his presence felt in his first game back, lining an opposite-field single with one out in the bottom of the first. Justin Turner followed with a two-run home run, which was his fifth homer of the spring and second in as many games.
A Cameron Maybin one-out walk in the second inning was followed by a single to put runners on the corners. Danny Espinosa’s RBI groundout trimmed the Dodgers’ lead in half before McCarthy could get out of the inning.
Yasiel Puig, batting eighth for a third consecutive game, was stranded in the bottom of the second after hitting a two-out double. Yunel Escobar’s leadoff single in the third was followed by back-to-back strikeouts.
But rather than get through the inning unscathed, McCarthy left a cutter over the plate that Pujols hit deep into the stands down the left-field line for a go-ahead home run. Seager and Turner singled in the bottom of the third, only for Adrian Gonzalez to ground into a double play.
Brandon Morrow picked up a pair of strikeouts and worked around a leadoff base hit in the fourth to keep the Angels’ lead at 3-2. Jesse Chavez was removed after allowing consecutive one-out singles to Yasmani Grandal and Joc Pederson. Angels reliever J.C. Ramirez retired Puig and Austin Barnes to strand both runners.
Pederson delivered for the Dodgers in the sixth, clubbing a two-run home run. Yaisel Sierra, who retired the side in order in the sixth, worked around a leadoff double in the seventh to complete a second scoreless inning in relief.
Minor League reliever Michael Johnson gave up a single, issued a walk, and then gave up an RBI double. Cody Bellinger walked and Franklin Gutierrez singled in the bottom of the ninth and finished the spring with their second tie.