Trevor Oaks made a second consecutive start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and was knocked around for the first time this spring. Oaks went 3.2 innings and allowed three runs on five hits. The earned run(s) Oaks allowed were the first of the spring. He surrendered a home run but finished with four strikeouts to zero walks.
Fortunately for the young right-hander, the Dodgers fared well against Arizona Diamondbacks starter Andrew Chafin and the ensuing relievers. Oaks began his outing on a positive note, retiring the side in order in the first inning, including back-to-back strike outs of Ketel Marte and Paul Goldschmidt.
Logan Forsythe’s leadoff walk in the bottom of the first was erased when Yasmani Grandal grounded into a double play. Chafin then struck out Justin Turner to end the inning. The second inning was a far different story for Oaks.
He yielded a trio of base hits to Chris Herrmann, Chris Ownigs and Raymond Fuentes, the last of which gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead. Franklin Gutierrez’s leadoff walk in the bottom of the second was followed by base hits from Adrian Gonzalez and Rob Segedin.
Zack Godley replaced Chafin and promptly allowed a sacrifice fly to Scott Van Slyke. Forsythe added a two-run single and Grandal’s RBI single extended the Dodgers’ lead to 4-1 before Godley could get out of the inning.
Fuentes hit a solo home run in the fourth, which was followed by a Kristopher Negron single that knocked Oaks out of the game. Steve Geltz allowed a pair of RBI singles, sending the game to the bottom of the inning tied, 4-4.
After a Van Slyke one-out walk and Kiké Hernandez double, Kevin Jepsen’s wild pitch allowed the Dodgers to take the lead. Grandal’s RBI groundout and Turner’s RBI double extended it to 7-4. Then in the fifth, the Dodgers scored another run on a wild pitch.
Two batters after Van Slyke’s RBI single, pinch-hitter Bobby Wilson clubbed a two-run homer. Josh Fields put together a third scoreless relief appearance in a row, setting the Diamondbacks down in order in the sixth.
Yaisel Sierra entered in the seventh inning, allowed a leadoff single and later a double and RBI groundout. He fared much better in the eighth, following a walk with a strikeout and double play to end the inning.
The Dodgers pushed across two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, and went on for a 13-6 victory over the Diamondbacks at Camelback Ranch. Sierra was ultimately charged for two runs (one earned) in his 2.2 innings of work. Relief pitcher Michael Johnson recorded the final out of the game.
