Walker Buehler surrendered three home runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers had another listless performance at the plate in an 5-1 loss to the L.A. Angels in the opener of the exhibition Freeway Series.
Buehler was hurt by a little bad luck when Chris Taylor failed to come up with a sliding catch in the left-center field gap that would have ended the first inning. The ball skipped off his glove and resulted in a double for Anthony Rendon.
Jared Walsh followed with an RBI single and Taylor Ward connected on a two-run homer before Buehler could get out of the inning. He then kept the Angels off the board until Shohei Ohtani and Rendon each hit solo home runs in the fifth inning.
Buehler exited after throwing 85 pitches and with the Dodgers trailing 5-1. The lone run support he received was a Taylor double that Gavin Lux cashed in with a two-out RBI single in the second inning.
Those were two of just four hits the Dodgers mustered on the night. Lux had two of those as he singled in the eighth inning before being replaced by a pinch-runner.
Dodgers send Jake Lamb to Minors
Shortly after first pitch on Sunday night the Dodgers announced Jake Lamb was re-assigned to Minor League camp. The Spring Training roster cut effectively ended Lamb’s bid to be with the Dodgers come Opening Day.
Despite his strong showing thus far, that did appear to be an uphill battle as a 40-man roster move would have been required as well. Meanwhile, Lamb beginning the season in the Minors, along with the Dodgers trading AJ Pollock to the Chicago White Sox, bodes well for Edwin Rios.
The Dodgers’ bench to begin the season figures to be made up of Hanser Alberto, Austin Barnes, Lux and Rios. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed the team will have 16 pitchers on their Opening Day roster.
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