The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered their first loss in 2019 Cactus League play, falling 8-2 to the Kansas City Royals. Tuesday’s matchup at Surprise Stadium marked the Dodgers’ first true road game this spring.
Cody Bellinger went 0-for-2 with one walk and left two men on base in his spring debut. Upper back discomfort prevented Bellinger from participating in a workout over the weekend. He started in right field and hit cleanup.
Bellinger stranded A.J. Pollock in each of his two at-bats. The Dodgers’ new center fielder finished 2-for-2 with a pair of singles and a walk. The rest of the Dodgers otherwise mustered all of four hits on the afternoon.
Shane Peterson’s two-out solo home run in the ninth inning ensured the Dodgers would not be shut out.
Kenta Maeda made quick work of the Royals in his first start, striking out Whit Merrifield and Billy Hamilton, then inducing Alex Gordon into a groundout. “The first strikeout that I got was not as planned, but the second strikeout of Hamilton was what I aimed for so that was good,” Maeda said through a translator.
Yimi Garcia added to what’s been encouraging results thus far by striking out the side in the second inning. The Royals didn’t have their first baserunner until Merrifield led off the fourth with a base hit.
Josh Smoker then walked Hamilton, later walked Salvador Perez, but escaped the bases-loaded jam by inducing an inning-ending double play. Kansas City then broke through in the sixth, when Josh Sborz allowed a one-out double and followed it by issuing three consecutive walks.
The Royals blew the game open in the eighth inning by scoring seven runs on Ben Holmes and Shea Spitzbarth.
