Yasiel Puig had a modest showing against his former team and it came in a tie as the Los Angeles Dodgers twice came from behind to finish with a 3-3 tie. The two teams will meet again Friday night at Goodyear Ballpark.
Puig singled in his first at-bat, perhaps finding added satisfaction in that it came off a left-hander in Hyun-Jin Ryu. The base hit was the second of three in a row that Ryu allowed to open the game.
A force out gave the Reds a 1-0 lead, and Jose Peraza, another former Dodger, added to it with an RBI single before Ryu could get out of the inning. Ryu settled in and allowed just one more hit as he got through four innings of work.
Puig finished the day 1-for-3, going hitless in a second at-bat against Ryu, and grounding out when facing Scott Alexander in the fifth inning.
After going without a baserunner over three innings against Sonny Gray, the Dodgers found success when facing Michael Lorenzen. Alex Verdugo’s leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth was followed by Justin Turner drawing a walk and Kiké Hernandez loading the bases with a single.
Ezequiel Carrera grounded into a force out, which got the Dodgers on the board. Two batters later, Lorenzo’s errant pickoff throw brought in the game-tying run.
Cincinnati reclaimed the lead when Phillip Ervin led off the fifth inning with a home run against Alexander. The hit was the first Alexander has allowed in four innings pitched this spring.
The Dodgers again managed to pull even, with Carrera singlehandedly sparking a rally. After working a two-out walk in the sixth inning, Carrera stole second base and later scored on Will Smith’s single.
The Reds had an opportunity to break the tie in the eighth inning as consecutive two-out base hits put runners at the corners. But Pedro Baez retired former teammate Kyle Farmer to escape the threat without any damage.
