Yasiel Puig put on a fireworks show in front of a sold-out crowd at Camelback Ranch, with his pair of two-run home runs propelling the Los Angeles Dodgers to a victory over the Texas Rangers. Friday’s contest was the second night game of the spring for the Dodgers, but their first at home.
After Brandon McCarthy worked around a two-out single in the first to complete a scoreless inning, Logan Forsythe hit a ground-rule leadoff double off Cole Hamels, who made his spring debut. Puig followed with a booming two-run homer that cleared the Dodgers’ bullpen in left field.
Hamels’ troubles continued as he walked Justin Turner and surrendered a two-run home run to Franklin Gutierrez. That snapped an 0-for-19 skid Gutierrez had been in through his first seven games.
McCarthy offset a Scott Van Slyke error in the second inning by inducing Drew Robinson into a double play. With Forsythe again on base, Puig tagged Rangers reliever Nick Martinez for his second two-run homer of the night.
After setting the Rangers down in order, McCarthy finished the night with three strikeouts over three scoreless innings. A Yasmani Grandal single, Joc Pederson walk and Van Slyke single loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the third.
Austin Barnes, who started as the designated hitter in place of O’Koyea Dickson (glute tightness) grounded into a double play, though it extended the Dodgers’ lead to 7-0. Charlie Culberson kept the inning alive by working a walk, and it paid off as Forsythe improved to 3-for-3 on the night with an RBI single.
After a pitching change, Puig matched Culberson’s plate appearance, which led to a Turner two-run single. Culberson added to the Dodgers’ streak of innings with at least one run scored by knocking an RBI base hit in the bottom of the fourth.
Julio Urias followed Brandon Morrow’s scoreless inning out of the bullpen with one of his own. Urias, making his first relief appearance of the spring, bookended a 1-2-3 fifth with strikeouts.
Darnell Sweeney’s solo home run in the bottom of the sixth extended the Dodgers’ lead to 12-0. The Rangers got on the board in the seventh inning, behind Joey Gallo’s two-run home run off Josh Ravin. The right-handed reliever also allowed a pair of singles, but neither baserunner scored.
Patrick Schuster and Jacob Rhame combined for two scoreless innings to finish out the Dodgers’ 12-2 rout of the Rangers.
