Dodgers Notes from Spring Training: Spring Game 6/Road Game 3

Throughout Spring Training the Dodgers PR department sends out helpful daily notes from Camelback Ranch, and I am happy to pass them along.  See what they've written below.

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 LOS ANGELES DODGERS (3-1-1) at CHICAGO CUBS (1-5)
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 – 12:05 p.m. PT | Sloan Park, Mesa
LHP Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-0, 4.50)

TV: None Radio: None

Revised Dodger lineup for today:
Crawford LF
Puig RF
Utley 3B
Ethier DH
Ellis C
Hernandez SS
Thompson CF
Segedin 1B
Johnson 2B
(Kershaw P)

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 8, 2016

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(Charlie Culberson and his 3-run homer, pic via @Dodgers on twitter)

THE DREAM IS OVER: The Dodgers (3-1-1) dropped their first Cactus League game of 2016 yesterday, falling to the Indians, 8-5, at Camelback Ranch. Alex Wood was betrayed by a couple of early errors and ended up allowing four first-inning runs, which put the club in the hole early. Following Wood to the mound, Yimi Garcia (1.0 IP), Brandon Beachy (2.0), Louis Coleman (1.0) and Ian Thomas (1.0) all threw scoreless baseball. At the plate, shortstop Corey Seager was 2-for-3 with a double while infielder Charlie Culberson continued to swing a hot bat, cracking a three-run homer. Culberson is tied for the Cactus League lead with six RBI and has six hits in eight at-bats this spring (.750). 

• The Dodgers were 4-3 against the Cubs in 2015, splitting a four-game set at Wrigley Field in June and taking two of three at Dodger Stadium in late August.  This year, the Dodgers hit the “Windy City” May 30-June 2 and the Cubbies visit Los Angeles Aug. 26-28.

(Kershaw, pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016)

ON THE MOUND: Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw will make his second spring outing this afternoon after firing 2.0 scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ Cactus League lid-lifter last Thursday. Kershaw will also be on the hill for the regular-season opener, April 4 at San Diego. The Opening Day nod will be Kershaw’s sixth consecutive Opening Day start, leaving him one shy of the Dodger franchise record (7), shared by Don Drysdale (1958-61, ’63, ’65, ‘69) and Don Sutton (1972-78). Fernando Valenzuela (1981, 1983-86, ’88) and William “Brickyard” Kennedy (1894-96, 1898-1900) are the only other members of the franchise to tally at least six Opening Day starts. 

• In 2015, Kershaw turned in his fifth consecutive All-Star campaign, going 16-7 and ranking third in the Majors with a 2.13 ERA in 33 starts. He topped the big leagues with 301 strikeouts in just 232.2 innings, joining Sandy Koufax (1963, ‘65-66) as the only pitchers in franchise history to eclipse 300 Ks.
• Last year, Kershaw went 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA in six Cactus League starts.
• RHP Joe Blanton will make his second appearance of the spring after tossing 2.0 perfect innings with three strikeouts against the White Sox last Thursday. Last year, he combined to go 7-2 with two saves and a 2.84 ERA in 36 games (four starts) with the Royals and Pirates.
• RHP Carlos Frias allowed a run in 2.0 innings on March 3 in his 2016 Cactus League debut and is coming off a 2015 campaign in which he went 5-5 with a 4.06 ERA in 17 games (13 starts) for Los Angeles.
• RHP Jacob Rhame worked a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout last Friday in Surprise and is entering his fourth professional season. Rhame combined to go 3-3 with four saves and a 2.68 ERA in 44 relief appearances last season with Single-A Ranch Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa.
• RHP Pedro Baez saw his first full big league action last season with the Dodgers, going 4-2 with a 3.35 ERA in 52 relief appearances. The hard-throwing former third baseman allowed a run and struck out two in his only spring inning of work last Friday against the Rangers.
• The Dodgers have three additional pitchers suiting up today from the minor league side: RHP Red Patterson (#89), LHP Grant Dayton (#84) and LHP Justin Richardson (#93).

(Several Dodgers' visited a Bull Riding event recently, pic via Jon SooHoo on @Dodgers twitter)

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