The Los Angeles Dodgers received more bad news on the injury front as a bone scan revealed Andre Ethier sustained a fractured right tibia as a result of fouling a ball off his shin on Friday. Ethier won’t undergo surgery, but the recovery timetable was set at 10-14 weeks.
The show must go on and the Dodgers are looking to put an end to their six-game losing streak — their longest of Spring Training — as they head to Surprise Stadium to face the Kansas City Royals. This marks the second meeting in five days, as the Royals defeated the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch last week.
While plenty of the news involving the Dodgers has centered around a player suffering an injury, Alex Wood is making his second start since being skipped over due to left forearm tightness.
Wood returned against Kansas City, allowing one run in three innings. He’s confident the forearm tightness is behind him and was pleased with last week’s start, calling it an “efficient” outing.
Overall this spring, Wood is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and has three strikeouts to two walks over five innings pitched (two starts). He’s opposed by Royals right-hander Chris Young.
Young is coming off an outing in which he threw four shutout innings against the Chicago Cubs and totaled five strikeouts. He owns a 5.63 ERA and 1.75 WHIP over three starts (eight innings pitched) this spring.
Outside of allowing four runs on six hits in two innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Young has been sharp. He faces a lineup that initially had Yasiel Puig in it, but he was scratched so as not to play a third consecutive day.
Yasmani Grandal, who was removed from Monday’s game after just two innings due to forearm soreness, gives way to A.J. Ellis behind the plate. Trayce Thompson again finds himself in the lineup as the starting left fielder.
Carl Crawford is the Dodgers’ designated hitter and bats leadoff. The Dodgers get their first look this spring at Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Eric Hosmer, among others who did not travel to Camelback Ranch for last week’s meeting.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT. The game will be televised by SportsNet LA and MLB Network.
Dodgers lineup:
DH: Carl Crawford
2B: Chase Utley
3B: Howie Kendrick
CF: Joc Pederson
SS: Kiké Hernandez
C: A.J. Ellis
LF: Trayce Thompson
1B: Rob Segedin
RF: Rico Noel
Royals lineup:
SS: Alcides Escobar
3B: Mike Moustakas
RF: Lorenzo Cain
1B: Eric Hosmer
DH: Kendrys Morales
LF: Alex Gordon
C: Salvador Perez
RF: Travis Shinder
2B: Omar Infante
