The Los Angeles Dodgers faced an uptick in competition but remained undefeated in their South Korea exhibition games with a 5-2 win over Team Korea on Monday.
First pitch at Gocheok Sky Dome was 7:07 p.m. local time and 3:07 a.m. PT. It further served as a proverbial test run as those effectively are the same times as the South Korea games between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres on March 20 and 21 (7:05 p.m. in Seoul, 3:05 a.m. PT).
The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Max Muncy’s two-out bloop single that brought in Mookie Betts, who drew a leadoff walk and stole second base.
But the Korean National Team eventually cashed in on some early traffic against Bobby Miller and took a 2-1 edge in the third inning to give the Dodgers their first deficit in South Korea.
That didn’t last long, however, as Betts’ second walk of the game wound up sparking a rally. After Freddie Freeman walked with out, Will Smith’s two-run double gave the Dodgers a decided lead.
Muncy followed that with a double and Chris Taylor later created more separation with a solo home run in the seventh inning.
Miller needed just 76 pitches to get through the planned five innings of work. He finished with six strikeouts and allowed the two runs on five hits. Miller was aided by Muncy making a terrific backhanded stop to strand a runner in scoring position in the fourth inning.
Further indicative of the traffic Team Korea created, Miller didn’t retire the side in order until his final inning.
Gavin Stone took over in the sixth and didn’t allow a hit in 3.1 innings while collecting eight strikeouts. Although Stone pitched out of the bullpen, he’s expected to be the Dodgers’ fifth starter in their Opening Day rotation.
J.P. Feyereisen recorded the final two outs of the Dodgers’ win.
Dodgers Opening Day
Next for the Dodgers is Opening Day on Thursday with the start of the Seoul Series. Tyler Glasnow is pitching in the opener and Yoshinobu Yamamoto is lined up to start the second game against the Padres.
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