After opening Cactus League play with an emphatic win and display of power against the Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers have now dropped three consecutive games. Their latest defeat came at the hands of the Seattle Mariners, in a 2-0 loss at Peoria Sports Complex.
The game was a big one for the Dodgers as ace Clayton Kershaw made his first start of the spring. He looked like he was in midseason form already, needing just 11 pitches to retire the Mariners in order in the first inning.
Kershaw was done after just the one inning, although he threw a bit more in the bullpen afterward to get some more work in. Pitchers who are expected to make an impact at the big league level, Tom Koehler, Scott Alexander, Pedro Baez and Brock Stewart, all appeared in the game.
Alexander and Stewart each pitched an inning and gave up a run, but results aren’t necessarily important right now in their first outings of the spring. The run Alexander allowed came on a wild pitch, while Stewart allowed a run to cross on a groundout.
The Dodgers bats were cold for the entire game, save for Max Muncy who had the team’s only two hits. Muncy doubled twice but wound up being stranded at third base both times. The Dodgers’ only other baserunners came via a Matt Kemp walk and Yasmani Grandal’s two walks.
Recent Minor League signee Justin De Fratus made his Dodgers debut in the seventh inning. He ran into a bit of trouble as a pair of runners reached base with one out. De Fratus remained composed and got a pair of groundouts to end the inning though to keep the deficit at 2-0 through seven.
De Fratus then went out and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, so he left a good first impression on the Dodgers brass. Mariners pitchers combined to retire nine batters in a row to close the game out.
