The Los Angeles Dodgers face the Seattle Mariners in their final Cactus League game before they make their way to South Korea for a couple of exhibition games and the Seoul Series.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is taking the mound for the Dodgers hoping to improve on a rough outing his last time out in what is his final tune up before he takes the mound in South Korea for his MLB debut.
In three innings against the Chicago White Sox, Yamamoto gave up six hits, five runs and lacked the pinpoint command that he showcased in his first start. Despite his struggles, his splitter was the one bright spot as he was still able to effectively use it to collect all three of his strikeouts.
The most intriguing matchup of the day is the battle between Yamamoto and the Mariners’ young star Julio Rodríguez. One of the most exciting players in the sport currently, Rodríguez hit .275/.333/.485 with 32 home runs, 103 RBI, and 37 steals in 2023.
The Dodgers are rolling out what should be their Opening Day lineup, minus a few changes, in this final Arizona spring game.
Chris Owings is in the game at third as Max Muncy deals with an illness. However, Muncy should be back in the lineup for Opening Day.
It remains to be seen how the Dodgers’ outfield situation will be settled, but it is safe to assume that Teoscar Hernández would be in the lineup against the San Diego Padres as well.
The top four bats in the Dodgers’ lineup are playing as well as you could hope for and are looking locked in as the regular season approaches.
Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani are seeing the ball really well right now with .452/.528/.613 and .579/.435/.592 slash lines respectively. Freddie Freeman has .979 on-base plus slugging percentage to go along with three home runs and 14 RBI.
Will Smith was scratched from the Dodgers lineup due to low back tightness. Although a relatively minor injury, it could be complicated with the Dodgers’ forthcoming long flight to South Korea. But as of now Smith’s status for Opening Day doesn’t appear to be in question.
Casey Lawrence gets the ball for the Mariners, making his third start of the spring and fourth appearance overall. He has a 5.06 ERA in 5.1 innings this spring and only pitched 27.1 innings in the Majors last season with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Dodgers Lineup
SS: Mookie Betts
DH: Shohei Ohtani
1B: Freddie Freeman
LF: Chris Taylor
RF: Jason Heyward
CF: James Outman
C: Austin Barnes
2B: Gavin Lux
3B: Chris Owings
Mariners Lineup
SS: J.P. Crawford
CF: Julio Rodríguez
2B: Jorge Polanco
DH: Mitch Garver
RF: Mitch Haniger
1B: Ty France
3B: Josh Rojas
LF: Taylor Trammell
C: Seby Zavala
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