Saturday not only marked the first of three exhibition meeting betweens the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels, but it also was the Spring Training debut of Hyun-Jin Ryu and Trayce Thompson. Prior to Saturday, the duo last played in live game in July 2016.
Ryu’s return to the mound began on a positive and dominant note. He retired the side in order in the first inning, mixing his fastball and changeup well, and collecting a pair of strikeouts. Garrett Richards took the mound for the Angels, in a real test for both him and the Dodgers.
He missed most of the 2016 season with a torn UCL ligament in his right elbow. After Chase Utley and Joc Pederson were retired the bottom of the first, Yasmani Grandal blooped a base hit to left field. Thompson struck out on a terrific pitch by Richards to end the inning.
Ryu’s second inning of work was more laborious than his first, but it still ended on a positive note. Ryu worked around a C.J. Cron one-out single, helping his cause by making a behind-the-back stab at a chopper up the middle to make a play for the third out.
Ryu finished with a pair of strikeouts in two scoreless innings, and proceeded to throw additional pitches in the bullpen after being removed. Kenley Jansen was knocked around after recording to quick outs in the third inning, allowing back-to-back hits to Eric Young Jr. (broken-bat double) and Ben Revere (RBI triple), which gave the Angels a 1-0 lead.
Richards issued consecutive walks in the bottom of the third before striking out Chase Utley. That was the last batter Richards faced, and he finished with four strikeouts in 2.1 innings. Angels reliever Eduardo Paredes needed all of one pitch to induce Joc Pederson into an inning-ending double play.
Cron jumped on a 2-0 pitch from Dodgers reliever Josh Fields and hit an opposite-field solo home run in the fourth. The home run was the third Fields allowed this spring in four appearances. After Bud Norris threw a scoreless fourth inning, he was hit hard by his former club in the fifth.
Austin Barnes’ solo home run got the Dodgers on the board, and it was followed by a Tyler Holt one-out single. Holt then raced around to score and tie the game on Chris Taylor’s triple. Utley’s sacrifice fly then gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead before Norris could work his way out of the inning.
Darnell Sweeney lifted a fly ball down the left-field line that stayed fair and just clered the fence for a two-run homer in the sixth inning. Stetson Allie’s three-run home run extended the Dodgers’ lead to 8-2, which held as the final score.
Yaisel Sierra completed two shutout innings out of the bullpen, and Madison Younginer turned in a scoreless ninth.
