The Los Angeles Dodgers bounced back from their first loss of 2019 Spring Training by defeating the Oakland Athletics, 5-3, at Hohokam Stadium. They did so by scoring in the first inning for a fourth time in five Cactus League games this year.
Oakland starter Daniel Mengden immediately found himself in trouble, as Alex Verdugo opened the game with a base hit and alertly scored when the A’s attempted to throw out Ezequiel Carrera at second base. Kiké Hernandez then lined an RBI single into center field.
To Mengden’s credit, he managed to limit the damage by retiring Joc Pederson and inducing Austin Barnes into an inning-ending double play. Matt Beaty led off the second inning with a base hit and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.
Mengden’s second wild pitch of the inning walked Cody Asche and put runners at the corners with one out, but he escaped the jam thanks to the Dodgers running into an out at home plate. Verdugo singled for a second time in as many at-bats but he and Asche were stranded.
The Dodgers blanked the A’s through the first three innings of the game behind hitless work from Julio Urias and Daniel Corcino. Urias was perfect in his 2019 debut, capping off a 1-2-3 first inning with a strike out of Matt Chapman.
Corcino walked a pair with two outs in the second, and had the inning extended on an error. He stranded the bases loaded and preserved the Dodgers’ 2-0 lead by striking out Chris Herrmann. Oakland scratched against Joe Broussard in the fourth inning behind doubles from Mark Canha and Chad Pinder.
Ryan Moseley nearly squandered the lead in the bottom of the eighth, issuing a walk and hitting a batter to put two on with one out. He stranded the tying and go-ahead runs by getting an inning-ending double play.
After Cristian Santana led off the ninth with a double, Rocky Gale cashed him in on an RBI triple to provide the Dodgers with some breathing room. D.J. Peters’ sacrifice fly and Kyle Garlick’s RBI double drove in insurance runs that offset Nick Hundley’s two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.
