We’re now a full two weeks into Dodgers spring training and we’ve had our first glorious bat flip. In Sunday’s game, Yasiel Puig sent one out of the park, and his bat flip was in mid-season form.
“I think he earned that one,” manager Dave Roberts said. “In the context of not disregarding opponents and playing the game for the team, you’ve got to have fun. If you hit a homer, that’s part of the game and you’re going to celebrate things. If you’re doing things the right way, I’ve got no problem with it. The way he’s playing, with enthusiasm, that’s who he is and that’s a good thing.”
Adrian Gonzalez is finally back in the Dodgers’ lineup, albeit only at designated hitter. He will have two at-bats today and two tomorrow before he leaves for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. Gonzalez has been sidelined early this spring with tennis elbow, missing all 10 games so far.
Another player that has seen some time on the sidelines is shortstop Corey Seager. He has been having back issues, and will sit out his third game in a row today.
Roberts said, “Its not serious. It’s not outrageous. It’s March”. He will resume workouts today and may not play in games until the end of the week, “out of an abundance of caution”.
So far this spring, Sergio Romo is looking like he’s a wonderful addition to this team. In his two innings pitched, he has five strikeouts, one walk and one hit surrendered. Today, Roberts spoke about not necessarily using Romo in just the eighth inning, but in high leverage situations anywhere in the game, ideally against right handed batters. It’s great to have a guy in the pen that can come in and shut down a potential big inning for the other team. Romo will also be leaving early this week to join Team Mexico.
Julio Urias also looked good in his second spring training start. He had two scoreless innings against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. “Everything was working, the velocity was there, the sharpness of his pitches,” Roberts said after the game. He is slated to pitch again on Friday.
Scott Kazmir will start on Monday afternoon against the Colorado Rockies. In his last outing, Kazmir started out well and then went off the rails a bit. He struck out one and allowed two runs, one earned. Kazmir was not necessarily worried about the results. “It’s a matter of getting reps to go out there and get some consistency,” he told Sportsnet LA’s Alanna Rizzo. He continued that that outing was to just go out, test things, and get some consistency. He is taking his time fine tuning his mechanics this spring, with a goal to be ready on Opening Day.
Other news and notes
Pedro Baez was shut down again, and will have new tests on his right hand. He was hit by a comebacker nearly two weeks ago.
Ike Davis, who has been with the Dodgers in camp, is playing for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. He worked out a walk in the 10th inning of Israel’s game against Korea, and his pinch runner ended up scoring the winning run in an upset, 2-1.
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