One day removed from a successful start to Cactus League play, the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped both split-squad games, with one an 8-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals. The Dodgers went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.
One of the bright spots in the loss was Matt Beaty, who had one home run and two RBI. Beaty, who was selected in the 12th round of the 2015 Draft, is in his first big league camp.
The Royals jumped out to an early lead, behind Alex Gordon’s two-out RBI double in the bottom of the first inning. After Logan Forsythe’s two-run single in the top of the second gave the Dodgers a lead, Jorge Bonifacio’s RBI double tied it, and Hunter Dozier’s sacrifice fly put Kansas City back ahead in the bottom half of the inning.
Dodgers non-roster invitee Zach Neal allowed three runs on five hits, and struck out one in his two innings of work. Neal spent parts of the past two seasons with Oakland Athletics.
One inning after Beaty’s RBI groundout tied the game, Drew Butera’s base hit to left field brought in a run on Andrew Toles’ error. In his first game since suffering an ACL injury last May, Toles went 0-for-3 and left four men on base.
Frank Schwindel’s RBI single extended the Royals’ lead to 5-3 before Joe Broussard could get out of the fifth inning. Beaty’s solo home run to lead off the seventh was the last the Dodgers were heard from, as they managed just one baserunner over the final two innings.
Paulo Orlando’s RBI double and Cody Asche’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning tacked on insurance runs for the Royals.
Limited to duty as a designated hitter because of a sore right elbow, Austin Barnes went 0-for-2 in his 2018 Spring Training debut. Trayce Thompson started in right for a second consecutive day and was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
