Stuck in a two-game losing streak for the first time this spring, the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the Chicago White Sox in the third of four exhibition meetings. Saturday’s game featured a pair of left-handed aces in Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale.
Howie Kendrick hit a one-out double to left-center field in the first inning, but was stranded as Scott Van Slyke grounded out and Alex Guerrero flied out. Kershaw set the White Sox down in order in the bottom of the first, picking up one strikeout in the process.
Sale breezed through the second inning as he kept the Dodgers off the bases. Todd Frazier led off the bottom of the second with a double down the left field line. He then scored on Jerry Sands’ two-out RBI single that gave the White Sox an early 1-0 lead.
Dioner Navarro followed with a base hit to put runners on the corners. Chicago pushed across another run on Tyler Saladino’s RBI infield single that went off Kershaw’s shin.
Kiké Hernandez sparked a brief two-out rally for the Dodgers in the third with a base hit to center field. Kendrick continued his string of solid hitting as he lined an RBI triple down the right field line that was just out of Abreu’s reach.
Abreu hit a one-out single in the bottom of the third, but was later picked off to end a scoreless inning of work for Kershaw. Guerrero jumped on Sale’s first pitch in the fourth inning to hit a home run that resembled a pop fly and carried well beyond the left field fence to tie the game at 2-2.
Rico Noel flashed his trademark speed by opening the fifth with a bunt single. A Hernandez base hit put runners on first and second with none out. However, Hernandez was backpicked at first base, then Sale retired Kendrick and Van Slyke to work out of trouble.
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Kershaw worked around a Navarro leadoff single to throw a scoreless fifth inning, which marked the end of his day of work. Kershaw threw 72 pitches over the five innings, allowed two runs on six hits and had four strikeouts.
Sale retired one batter in the sixth, then gave way to Tyler Danish. The right-handed reliever fielded a comebacker and struck out Austin Barnes to end the inning. Louis Coleman came on in relief of Kershaw in the bottom of the sixth and struck out one batter as he retired the side in order.
After being set down in order by Zach Putnam in the seventh, the Dodgers had their last eight batters retired up to that point. Kenley Jansen gave up a one-out single, then a two-run home run with two outs that put the White Sox ahead, 4-2, in the seventh inning.
The Dodgers’ bats remained quiet in the eighth as Tommy Kahnle retired Corey Brown, Cody Bellinger and Rob Segedin, striking out Bellinger and Segedin.
Brandon Hicks led off the ninth with base hit, only for it to be followed by Shawn Zarraga grounding into a double play. Delvis Morales flied out and the Dodgers suffered a third consecutive loss.