Having continued to impress throughout the first weekend of Cactus League games, Zach McKinstry added to his growing Spring Training résumé and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied late in their 9-4 win over the L.A. Angels.
Josiah Gray did not disappoint in his first ever Spring Training appearance, allowing a bloop single to Angels’ top prospect Jo Adell, but not anything else in a 24-pitch scoreless first inning. Gray’s velocity topped out at 97 mph.
“I’m excited to see him. He cares, he’s got really good fastball command. We always talk about to be able to have stuff to miss bats in the strike zone. The changeup is real,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on the eve of Gray’s start.
“Just getting him to understand how to use that slider the right way. But, man, if there’s a guy you want to bet on, he’s right there at the top of the list.”
Gray’s tantalizing showing was followed by another dominant relief appearance from Kenley Jansen. He struck out the side, which included battling back after falling behind 2-0 to get Jose Rojas swinging and end the perfect second inning.
Jansen has noted how much earlier in Spring Training he’s pitching this year, which although is unusual for him, has lent to positive results thus far.
Joe Kelly added to the shutout bid by working around a single and striking out a pair in the third inning. But Tyler Fergusons squandered a 1-0 lead when a leadoff walk in the fourth was cashed in on Michael Hermosillo’s RBI double.
The Dodgers had broken the scoreless tie the half-inning prior behind Cody Bellinger’s RBI single with two outs. Bellinger finished the day 1-for-2 with the RBI and walk.
The game remained deadlocked until Will Smith’s leadoff double sparked a rally in the bottom of the sixth inning. Matt Beaty was later hit by a pitch, and McKinstry’s drive to left field hit off the top of the wall for a go-ahead, two-run triple.
McKinstry was added to the 40-man roster last November, earned praise from Gavin Lux, and is someone Dodgers manager Dave Roberts identified as a candidate to make his MLB debut this season.
After the Angels took a lead on Livan Soto’s three-run home run with two outs in the eighth, the Dodgers responded in the bottom half of the inning. A balk brought in the tying run, two batters later Luke Raley delivered a two-run triple, and Cody Thomas’ three-run blast then broke the game open.
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