The Spring Training slate officially began as the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the Chicago Cubs at Camelback Ranch for their Cactus League opener. Things started off well for the Dodgers, but they quickly fell apart in 12-4 loss.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto made the start as he prepares for the Opening Day nod in the Tokyo Series, giving him a shorter timeline to prepare. But things went well for the right-hander as he pitched 1.2 innings without allowing a run while striking out two and allowing three hits.
“Although I allowed a couple hits, I could do what I wanted to,” Yamamoto said through his interpreter, Yoshihiro Sonoda. “That was great for my first game.”
With just one month until the Tokyo Series, Yamamoto was pleased with his first start and hopes to pitch more in his next outing.
“I think I’ll throw a couple more innings as I go deeper into games,” Yamamoto said. “I’d like to try a couple different things to get myself ready for the games in Tokyo.”
The Dodgers offense gave them an early 3-0 lead in the second inning. The first two runs came via the long ball as Eddie Rosario smacked the first home run of the 2025 season, which also drove in James Outman.
They ended up scoring another run on a wild pitch before the inning came to an end.
The third inning ended up being a disaster all around, not just because of the score, but also a scary moment on the field. Bobby Miller took over and after a leadoff walk, he was hit in the head by a 106 mph line drive off the bat of Michael Busch.
Thankfully, Miller was conscious and able to walk off the field under his own power after being checked on by the training staff.
Miller was replaced by Justin Jarvis, who allowed the first four batters he faced to reach base, giving the Cubs a 4-3 lead with a walk, single, walk and double. An RBI groundout made it 5-3 as he retired his first hitter of the outing.
Another single later in the inning gave the Cubs a 6-3 lead before the inning came to an end.
In the fifth inning as the Dodgers began to change their position players, bringing in their prospects and farmhands, Justin Wrobleski also took over on the mound. He allowed a single and later a two-out home run to Cage Workman that made it an 8-3 game.
The Cubs added on in the seventh inning against Matt Sauer after a leadoff double and one-out single, putting them up by six runs. They extended on in the eighth inning with a three-run homer to make it a 12-3 game.
Chris Okey drove in a run for the Dodgers in the eighth inning, scoring Josue De Paula.
What’s next for Dodgers Spring Training?
The Dodgers play the Cubs again on Friday, this time at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. Tony Gonsolin is scheduled to get the start, facing off against Jordan Wicks.
First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m. PT and 1:05 p.m. local time.
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