Playing in front of a crowd that had more buzz than your usual Spring Training game, the Los Angeles Dodgers settled for a 4-4 tie with the San Diego Padres in their final Cactus League matchups this year.
AJ Pollock gave the Dodgers an early lead with a solo home run in the first inning and he later set the table with a double that put two in scoring position. Justin Turner cashed in on the opportunity with a two-run single into center field, which extended the Dodgers’ lead to 3-0.
Ryan Weathers otherwise did his best to limit L.A. over his three innings of work. The young southpaw flashed the same electric fastball he did against the Dodgers in his MLB debut during last year’s National League Division Series and finished with six strikeouts.
San Diego made some headway on erasing their deficit when Ivan Castillo and Tommy Pham opened the bottom of the third with back-to-back singles. Dustin May then struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. on a high fastball and nearly got Manny Machado to hit into an inning-ending double play.
His chopper kicked off the mound and took a tricky hop before reaching Chris Taylor, resulting in an infield single that loaded the bases. May lost his command a bit and walked in a run before locking back in to strike out Wil Myers.
Gavin Lux then bailed out May by getting to a ball deep in the hole for a tremendous play and throw to end the inning. May wound up going 3.2 innings, striking out seven and allowing just the one run. Gus Varland struck out Tatis to strand the two inherited baserunners in the fourth.
Chris Taylor added to what’s been an impressive spring with a solo home run in the fifth inning, which Mike Kickham gave back on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh.
Daniel Robertson picked up two quick outs in the ninth inning, only to then come undone. The Padres loaded the bases on a hit batter, single and walk, then tied the game on Webster Rivas’ two-run single.
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