Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully arrived at Camelback Ranch on Friday afternoon to call the first of four exhibition games this year. The first on his docket was a matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
Making his first start since entering the picture to replace Mike Bolsinger in the rotation, Carlos Frias erased a one-out Hunter Pence single in the first by getting Buster Posey to ground into a double play.
Carl Crawford opened the bottom of the first with a base hit, then Clayton Blackburn retired Yasiel Puig and Chase Utley. However, the wheels then began to fall off for the Giants right-hander. Adrian Gonzalez fouled off multiple pitches before ultimately drawing a walk to extend the inning.
It paid off as Austin Barnes’ RBI single gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Barnes then stole second base, and with the ball getting away from Brandon Crawford, Gonzalez broke for home to score.
After Joc Pederson drew a walk, Rob Segedin’s RBI single pushed the Dodgers’ lead to 3-0 and knocked Blackburn out of the game. Frias allowed consecutive base hits with none out in the second inning, but kept the Giants off the board by inducing a double play followed by a grounder for the third out.
Puig hit a hustle double with two outs in the bottom of the second, then scored on Utley’s RBI double. Gonzalez followed with an opposite-field two-run home run, giving the Dodgers a comfortable 6-0 lead through two innings.
Frias walked Gregor Blanco with two outs in the third and allowed a base hit to Pence, putting runners on the corners. Nothing came of it however, as Blanco was thrown out by Barnes attempting to score on a wild pitch.
CONTINUE READING: Carlos Frias adds to lead, Dodgers shut out Giants
