Day 20 Spring Training Report

Here is the Dodger lineup for the B Game today: Oeltjen CF, Sellers SS, Hoffmann RF, Sands LF, Ellis C, Baez 3B, Galvez DH, Jacobs 1B, Ynoa 2B, Kuroda P.

Lineup for the A Game: Gwynn RF, Navarro C, Ethier DH, Kemp CF, Gibbons LF, DeJesus 2B, Mitchell 1B, Castro SS, Miles 3B, Ely P.

Below are some Spring Training Notes from the Dodgers.

• ROLL OUT THE BARRELS: The Dodgers make the short bus ride over to Maryvale this afternoon to take on former Dodger Takashi Saito and the Brewers. Los Angeles went 4-2 against Milwaukee last season, which included a three-game sweep at Miller Park in August, and will face the Brewers for the first time in 2011 for a two-game set at Dodger Stadium on May 16 and 17.
• THE BOOK ON ELY: Dodger right-hander John Ely makes his second start of the spring season this afternoon and has allowed just one hit with five strikeouts in 3.0 innings over his two Cactus League appearances. At Dodger Stadium last season, Ely limited the Brew Crew to four hits and one run over 6.2 innings on May 6 in his second Major League start. The 24-year-old will be followed by LHP Ron Mahay, RHP Travis Schlichting and RHP Javy Guerra. RHP Takashi Saito will get the start for Milwaukee.
• PLAY “B”ALL: This morning, the Dodgers took on the Mariners in a “B” game on the back fields at Camelback Ranch. Hiroki Kuroda started for Los Angeles with Luis Vasquez coming out of the ‘pen. The top of the Dodger lineup featured the familiar names of Trent Oeltjen, Justin Sellers, Jamie Hoffmann, Jerry Sands and A.J. Ellis with the rest of the squad coming from minor league camp. An update on the game action will be sent out as soon as it’s available.

(Pic Link: Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers 2011)

(Los Angeles Dodgers Don Mattingly and Franklin Stubbs smile in the dugout during game against the Cincinnati Reds Thursday, March 3, 2011 at the Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona.)

• LETTING THE STICKS DO THE TALKING: Jerry Sands crushed a three-run home run to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning as Los Angeles downed Colorado 7-1 yesterday at Talking Stick. Sands added a triple in the eighth and is now batting .462 (6-for-13) with a 1.077 slugging percentage on the spring. The Dodger hit parade included a solo home run from Xavier Paul in the eighth and a 2-for-2 afternoon from A.J. Ellis, who plated a run with an RBI single in the seventh. The bullpen provided 5.2 scoreless innings in relief of Ted Lilly as Mike MacDougal (0.2 IP), Blake Hawksworth (1.0), Tim Redding (3.0) and Kenley Jansen (1.0) kept the Rockies off the board.
• TAKI-NG THE NEXT STEP: Congratulations to Dodger Assistant General Manager Kim Ng, who has accepted a position as Major League Baseball’s new Senior Vice President for Baseball Operations. The Dodgers would like to thank Kim for her nine years of service and wish her nothing but the best in her new position in New York.
• MAKING HIS BID: Yesterday, RHP Tim Redding fired 3.0 hitless innings of relief to pick up the victory and has yet to allow a run through 8.0 innings pitched this spring. Redding remains tied with Clayton Kershaw for the N.L. Cactus League lead with a 0.00 ERA and Chad Billingsley ranks third among qualifiers with a 1.35 ERA.

(PicLink: TwitPic TommyLasorda)

• FAB FIVE: Ted Lilly made his first official start of Spring Training yesterday and continued the Dodgers’ trend of superb starting pitching, allowing just one run over 3.1 innings. Through 11 games, Dodger starters have posted a miniscule 1.20 ERA (4 ER/30.0 IP). The Los Angeles projected rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda and Jon Garland will boast five pitchers who each won 10 or more games last season. Their cumulative 2010 ERA of 3.39 (371 ER/986.0 IP) and .234 opponents’ batting average (857-for-3,663) would have led all Major League starting rotations and their combined 844 strikeouts would have ranked third. Each member of the club’s starting rotation posted an ERA under 3.65, pitched more than 190.0 innings and made 30 or more starts last season.
• CAN’T TEACH SPEED – Dodger outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. swiped his Major League-leading fifth stolen base yesterday as the Dodgers moved into a tie with Pittsburgh for the National League lead with 16 steals. Eugenio Velez also stole his third base of Spring Training in yesterday’s contest. Only two Dodgers have been caught stealing in 11 games this spring after the club stole just 10 bases in 30 Spring Training games last season.

(PicLink: TwitPic DeadtoFred)

• SIMPLY CLASSIC – On Sunday, Dodger Stadium will host the 2^nd Annual Dodgertown Classic presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California. The doubleheader of collegiate baseball kicks off at 10:00 a.m. as Saint Mary’s battles the University of Georgia followed by the crosstown rivalry game of USC vs. UCLA at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available at Dodgers.com/classic with free parking and half-priced concessions for the day of family fun.
• HIGH NUMBERS: 10 Dodger minor leaguers will join the big leaguers in Maryvale this afternoon. Infielder Corey Smith (97) was a 2010 Double-A Southern League All-Star after ranking second in the league with 86 RBI and finishing ninth with a .467 slugging percentage. RHP Steven Ames, RHP Francisco Felix (91), INF Christian Lara (87), INF Jaime Pedroza (90), LHP David Pfeiffer (89), RHP Stuart Pomeranz (98), RHP Javier Solano (95), RHP Merkin Valdez (96) and C Matt Wallach (92) will round out today’s minor league additions.

(Pic Link: TwitPic KellyKelll)

• TOGETHER IN TUCSON: It was announced on Friday that the Dodgers and Diamondbacks will play a Spring Training game on Friday, March 25 at 1:05 p.m. in Tucson with proceeds benefitting the Tucson Together Fund. The fund provides financial assistance to the victims, witnesses and their families for expenses associated with the January 8^th tragedy. The contest will be played at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium (formerly known as TEP) with tickets available at Dodgers.com/Spring.