The Los Angeles Dodgers slugged three home runs in the fourth inning but saw non-roster relief pitchers implode in the eighth inning as the Chicago White Sox rallied for a 10-7 comeback win.
Trouble began when Yordy Cabrera took over in the eighth and promptly walked the bases loaded with nobody out. Parker Curry was unable to get the Dodgers out of the jam, as he allowed a two-run single.
Another base hit loaded the bases, and Jake Elmore’s blooper landed in fair territory for an RBI single. Preston Tucker’s ground-rule double plated two runs and gave the White Sox a 7-6 lead, and two wild pitches from Curry each brought in a run.
Alfredo Gonzalez’s RBI base hit capped off the eight-run inning for the White Sox.
Prior to that, the Dodgers appeared well on their way to a win themselves. They did go into the bottom of the fourth inning trailing 2-0, but after Tim Anderson’s throwing error allowed Chris Taylor to reach with one out, Cody Bellinger cleared the White Sox bullpen in right field for a game-tying two-run homer.
Russell Martin followed with a solo shot, which not only was his first home run since returning to the Dodgers, but it gave them a lead. Anderson’s struggles then surfaced again, as a throwing error and fielding miscue put Austin Barnes and Joc Pederson on base.
Kiké Hernandez made Anderson pay, contributing to the Dodgers’ power inning with a three-run blast. The home run was Hernandez’s third this spring.
Armed with a 6-2 lead, Kenley Jansen was nearly the victim of soft contact. A dunker into left field and infield single put two on with nobody out in the fifth, but Jansen escaped the jam by inducing a double play and collecting a strikeout.
Joe Kelly stranded a one-out double in the sixth inning, benefitting from Anderson perhaps hoping to atone for his three errors, attempted to score from second base on a wild pitch, running the White Sox out of the inning.
Ross Stripling exited after allowing an RBI single to Matt Skole with two outs in the top of the fourth. Luis Vasquez’s wild pitch brought in a second run for the White Sox.
Stripling finished with the two unearned runs allowed on two hits and two walks, and he also recorded a pair of strikeouts. He’s continuing to stretch out as a starter in the event something goes amiss with the rotation come Opening Day.
