Clayton Kershaw turned in two perfect innings and gave way to a Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen that was unable to protect the lead but had its shining moments against the Cleveland Indians. Kershaw threw 23 pitches, recorded two strikeouts, and finished his day throwing an additional inning in the bullpen.
He exited with a 1-0 lead, thanks to Yasmani Grandal’s RBI single in the first inning. Kenley Jansen made his 2017 debut in the third, and promptly allowed a leadoff triple to Daniel Robertson. He scored two batters later on Chris Taylor’s error to tie the game.
Yan Gomes struck out swinging and Jose Ramirez was caught trying to steal third base to end the inning. Sergio Romo’s debut with the Dodgers was nothing short of impressive as he struck out the side in the fourth.
Scott Van Slyke’s one-out walk in the bottom half of the inning was erased when Jose Miguel Fernandez grounded into a double play. Alex Wood worked around a two-out single and notched a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless fifth. He then kept the Indians off the board in the sixth after issuing a two-out walk.
Justin Turner’s leadoff single in the sixth was the Dodgers’ first hit since Grandal’s single in the first inning. After Bobby Wilson followed with a base hit of his own, Franklin Gutierrez struck out swinging. He dropped to 0-for-8 with five strikeouts in Cactus League play to that point.
Scott Van Slyke’s RBI single gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead before Shawn Morimando could get out of the inning. Chris Hatcher’s second appearance of the spring was another struggle. After issuing a walk and allowing a single, pinch-hitter Greg Allen hit a game-tying RBI double.
Hatcher bounced back in some regard, stranding runners at second and third base by recording back-to-back strikeouts. O’Koyea Dickson doubled with one out in the the bottom of the seventh and Brett Eibner walked with two outs.
Both came around to score Wynston Sawyer’s pinch-hit double, giving the Dodgers a 4-2 lead. That proved to be the difference, with Brandon Morrow earning a save in the Dodgers’ fifth win of the spring.
