The Los Angeles Dodgers shook off devastating news of Justin Turner breaking his wrist on a hit by pitch to complete a home-and-home sweep of the Oakland Athletics with an 8-2 win on Tuesday. Yasmani Grandal and Yasiel Puig combined to go 4-for-7 with six RBI.
Los Angeles jumped out to an early lead, beginning with a leadoff home run from Chris Taylor in the first inning. Paul Blackburn then struck out Corey Seager but walked Cody Bellinger and Matt Kemp.
Puig hit a two-run double, which was followed by an RBI double from Grandal, marking the start of big days for both. Despite allowing four runs and facing nine batters in the first, Blackburn needed just 21 pitches to get through the inning.
The Dodgers’ next lit up the scoreboard in the third, on Grandal’s team-leading fifth home run of the spring. Seager’s RBI single and Puig’s second two-run double represented the team’s final bit of scoring.
Kenta Maeda shook off a leadoff triple and subsequent balk that brought the runner home, to log five-plus innings. After a Stephen Piscotty leadoff single, Maeda retired the next 11 batters faced. He was removed after allowing a base hit to Bruce Maxwell to start the sixth.
Tony Cingrani promptly walked Boog Powell before striking out a pair and inducing a fly out to end the inning and close the book on Maeda. The right-hander limited Oakland to the one run on three hits, and had three strikeouts without issuing a walk.
Matt Olson’s leadoff double against Scott Alexander led to the Athletics pushing a run across in the bottom of the seventh, but it was all they could manage on the Dodgers’ bullpen. Wilmer Font finished the game out with two strikeouts over two hitless innings.
Cody Bellinger, who fouled a pitch off his foot, was removed prior to the start of the fourth inning. Bellinger is said to have avoided injury, however.
