GAME THREAD

brought to you by dsp and bluemouse...

 

Man, I've missed baseball. Looking good today.

 

Van Slyke hits two-run homer against Rangers
by AJ Cassavell | MLB.com — 21 minutes ago

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- It's early March, but Adrian Beltre's swing already looks like it's in midseason form.

Making his Spring Training debut Friday during the Rangers' 3-3 tie with the Dodgers, the veteran third baseman smacked the first pitch he saw into center field for an RBI single. Two innings later, he fought off a pitch and singled to left and finished the day 2-for-2.

Left-hander Scott Kazmir was hit hard in his first start for the Dodgers, who signed him to a three-year $48 million contract in the offseason. He allowed six hits, but limited the Rangers to just two runs thanks to a pair of double-play balls.

"In the first inning my fastball command wasn't there and I was drifting a little, my delivery was not as sound as I like," Kazmir said. "I was a little tick off. But some at-bats I was locked in, like [Prince] Fielder and [Delino] DeShields. There were a lot of positives and some stuff to work on in the bullpen. On the two double plays, I hit my spots."

The first of those double-play grounders came off the bat of newest Ranger Ian Desmond, who was making his debut in left field. Desmond finished the day 1-for-3 and wasn't tested much defensively. He fielded one ball -- a bases-empty single, which he only had to throw back to the infield.

Scott Van Slyke tied the game at 2 in the top of the fourth inning on a towering two-run homer over the Dodgers' bullpen in left field.

Rangers starter Chi Chi Gonzalez was sharp, allowing just a hit in two innings.

"I'll take that every time," Gonzalez said. "Two innings, 21 [pitches] means I was attacking the zone and got quick outs."

The Dodgers tied the game in the ninth when Connor Sadzeck allowed back-to-back singles to Corey Brown and Charlie Culberson. Alex Hassan grounded into a double play, but Sadzeck then gave up back-to-back walks to Jack Murphy and Austin Barnes. Jefri Hernandez replaced Sadzeck and promptly threw a wild pitch to Elian Herrera, allowing Brown to score from third. Herrera lined out to center field to end the half inning.

Dodgers up next: Kenta Maeda makes his Dodgers debut Saturday when he starts the Cactus League game against the Arizona D-backs and Shelby Miller at Camelback Ranch-Glendale at 12:05 p.m. PT. The game also will mark the first start for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who missed one day of workouts with recurring neck stiffness.

Rangers up next: Cole Hamels makes his Spring Training debut Saturday when the Rangers head to Scottsdale to face the Giants at 2:05 p.m. CT. It's Hamels' first Spring Training with Texas after he was acquired from Philadelphia at the Trade Deadline last year. Also appearing in Scottsdale will be Joey Gallo, who had an RBI single in his Spring debut Thursday, and Nomar Mazara, who is off to a red-hot start to Cactus League play (5-for-6, HR, 4 RBIs).