Dodgers can’t muster any offense in the ninth, fall to Diamondbacks
Dustin May did everything he could Friday night.
But after a nearly flawless season opener from the Dodgers the night before, not even May’s seven scoreless innings were enough to prevent a 2-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
There were wasted opportunities at the plate, with the Dodgers stranding 12 runners on base and going hitless in seven at-bats with men in scoring position.
There was a late blown lead from the bullpen, with Alex Vesia surrendering a go-ahead, two-run home run to Kyle Lewis in the top of the eighth moments after Mookie Betts had belted a solo blast to break a scoreless tie.
Kyle Lewis’ two-run home run gives Diamondbacks the lead
⚾ Diamondbacks 2, Dodgers 1 — End of the eighth
Arizona’s Kyle Lewis hit a solo home run off Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia to give the Diamondbacks the lead. The homer scored Evan Longoria, who found the left-field corner for a standup double the previous at-bat.
Evan Phillips relieved Vesia after Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled with two outs in the eighth. Phillips got Christian Walker to fly out to shallow center to end the inning.
Dodgers starter Dustin May, who threw seven shutout innings, will get a no-decision.
The Dodgers couldn’t muster much in the bottom of the inning. Miguel Vargas drew a two-out walk, ending Drey Jameson’s strong relief stint — he allowed two hits, one earned run and struck out five over four innings.
Scott McGough took over in relief. He threw a pitch in the dirt, allowing Vargas to advance to second. He then walked James Outman before Miguel Rojas lined out to short to end the eighth.
Caleb Ferguson will pitch the ninth for the Dodgers.
Mookie Betts solo home run breaks scoreless game in the seventh
⚾ Dodgers 1, Diamondbacks 0 — End of the seventh
Mookie Betts hit a solo home run 384 feet over the left-field wall off Arizona reliever Drey Jameson to break a scoreless game in the seventh inning. It was Betts’ first hit of the season.
A leaping catch by Arizona’s Jake McCarthy in right field off a sharp liner from Max Muncy prevented the Dodgers from adding an additional run.
In the top of the inning, Arizona’s Gabriel Moreno hit a two-out single to right before Dustin May struck out Jake McCarthy on a 93-mph cutter to cap the inning.
May exits the game after 84 pitches and seven innings of work. He allowed three hits, one walk and struck out four over the course of a very sharp outing. It was the longest outing of his major-league career.
Alex Vesia will take over on the mound in the eighth.
Dodgers and Diamondbacks scoreless heading into the seventh
⚾ Diamondbacks 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the sixth inning
J.D. Martinez struck out, David Peralta flied out to the warning track in left field, Miguel Vargas walked and James Outman struck out.
It was another 1-2-3 inning for the Dodgers in the top of the inning, with Dustin May getting Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to bite on an 85-mph curveball his third strikeout of the game.
Dodgers and Diamondbacks remain locked in scoreless tie after five
⚾ Diamondbacks 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the fifth
Arizona reliever Drey Jameson struck out Mookie Betts and got Freddie Freeman to ground out to short. Will Smith then drew a walk before Max Muncy flied out to right-center field.
Dustin May continued to look sharp, striking out Geraldo Perdomo to cap a 1-2-3 inning. May has allowed two hits and a walk while striking out two over 61 pitches.
Dodgers chase Merrill Kelly, but leave two stranded in fourth
⚾ Diamondbacks 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the fourth
David Peralta and Miguel Vergas drew back-to-back walks from Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly, prompting a mound visit. James Outman then hit a dribbler in front of Arizona catcher Gabriel Moreno, who threw to third to force out Peralta.
Drey Jameson then took over in relief for Kelly and Miguel Rojas flied out to right to keep it a scoreless game.
Kelly allowed three hits, four walks and struck out four over 3 2/3 innings.
Arizona’s Christian Walker singled to left on a sharp liner, but that’s all Dustin May allowed in the top of the frame.
Game remains scoreless heading into the fourth inning
⚾ Diamondbacks 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the third
Another ho-hum inning for the Dodgers. Mookie Betts led off with a walk before Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Max Muncy were retired in order.
Dodgers starter Dustin May has allowed one hit and one walk over 40 pitches so far.
Dodgers can’t capitalize on potential scoring chance in the second
⚾ Diamondbacks 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the second
David Peralta led off with a sharp single to right field, but was gunned out attempting to steal second base. Miguel Vargas followed with a double to deep center field. Merrill Kelly then struck out rookie James Outman and Miguel Rojas.
In the top of the inning, Arizona’s Corbin Carroll doubled to right field off Dustin May with two outs, but was left stranded when Jake McCarthy flied out to left.
Dodgers apologize to Diamondbacks for stadium lights blunders during season opener
The Dodgers left Dodger Stadium on Thursday night happy with a sound victory to open the season. The Arizona Diamondbacks left disappointed and annoyed — and not just with the result.
After the game, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo voiced frustration with two ill-timed light displays during the home team’s 8-2 win.
“I wasn’t too pleased about that,” Lovullo said. “It’s the first game for everybody. Hopefully they figure it out.”
Game remains scoreless after first inning
⚾ Diamondbacks 0, Dodgers 0 — End of the first
Max Muncy, who struck out five times in the Dodgers season-opening win, singled with two outs against Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly. Muncy and Will Smith were left stranded when J.D. Martinez struck out.
Dustin May retired the Diamondbacks in order to lead off the game.
Dodgers roll out same lineup to face Merrill Kelly in Game 2 of season
The Dodgers didn’t make any changes from their opening day lineup for Friday night’s contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks, using the same nine hitters to face right-hander Merrill Kelly.
Manager Dave Roberts said this is the group he will usually trot out against right-handed pitching, though he also wants to get Jason Heyward a start in the coming days.
For Saturday’s game, Roberts said Austin Barnes will be behind the plate for the first time, while Chris Taylor and Trayce Thompson will likely draw into the lineup as well.
On the mound, Dustin May will make his first start of the year, following an impressive spring performance in what will be his first full season back from Tommy John surgery.
“It’s good to see him fully healthy,” Roberts said. “I think the thing I saw was a consistent delivery with Dustin. And a consistent demeanor, as far at the emotions. I certainly expect a ramp up of that, given it’s the regular season. And I don’t want to take away emotions from him, because he’s an emotional guy and that’s what makes him tick and he feeds off that. But I do think there’s been a concerted effort in trying to manage him.”
Base stealing is already up under MLB’s new rules, but don’t expect the Dodgers to join in
In one of the quickest signs that MLB’s new gameplay rules are working as intended, the league saw a dramatic opening-day spike in steals Thursday.
After MLB teams combined to steal just five bases in nine attempts during last year’s opening day, Thursday’s games saw 21 successful steals and just two caught stealings.
It’s the result of the new pitch timer, a limit on pickoffs in each at-bat and the slightly larger bases MLB introduced this year.
So will the Dodgers, who didn’t attempt a steal Thursday, join the trend?
Don’t bet on it, at least based on what manager Dave Roberts said Friday.
“I still think it boils down to personnel,” Roberts said. “I’m still not in the business of running into outs, regardless of how big the bases are. We just don’t have the burners, the prototype base stealers. So I’m not gonna run just to run.”
The Dodgers have been selectively effective in stealing bases in the past.
Last year, the team’s 98 steals were ninth most in the majors, while their 84% success rate ranked second behind the Chicago White Sox — although much of that came courtesy of the since-departed duo of Trea Turner and Cody Bellinger.
Of this year’s team, Mookie Betts is the only past 30-base-stealer, which he accomplished in 2018, but he hasn’t swiped more than 12 in a year since joining the Dodgers.
Tony Gonsolin (sprained ankle) to face hitters next week
Tony Gonsolin appears to finally be making strides in his recovery from a sprained ankle.
More than three weeks since getting hurt when he turned his ankle slowly trotting off a backfield at Dodgers spring training, Gonsolin has resumed throwing bullpens and is set to face hitters again next week, manager Dave Roberts said Friday.
“Tony’s doing well,” Roberts said, a day after the right-hander threw about 30 pitches in a bullpen session at Dodger Stadium. “Came out of yesterday’s pen really well.”
Roberts said Gonsolin will head back to the team’s Camelback Ranch facility in Arizona next week to face hitters Wednesday.
The team has been hoping to get Gonsolin back into its major league rotation by the end of April.
In the meantime, Michael Grove is slated to get at least 2-3 starts in Gonsolin’s place. Ryan Pepiot was originally supposed to replace Gonsolin but suffered an oblique injury at the end of spring training that forced him to begin the year on the injured list.
Marriage proposal by Dodgers fan ends with tackle in the outfield
A marriage proposal in outfield at Dodger Stadium ends with a big hit. (Margorie Molina-Garcia)
During the Dodgers’ season opener, it was a brutal tackle in the outfield that got one of the biggest reactions from baseball fans.
A Dodgers fan who tried to propose to his girlfriend on the outfield at Dodger Stadium Thursday was instead tackled by a security guard in a video that has now gone viral.
It was not in vain: The tackled fan’s date said “Yes!” according to an Instagram post from Ramona Saavedra, who posted a picture with a ring on her finger.
“Tad bit extreme,” Saavedra said in a photo with her fiancé, Ricardo Juarez. “But he’s a LEO. What can you expect. And of course I said YES!”
How will the new-look Dodgers fare this season?
Dodgers beat writer Jack Harris and columnist Bill Plaschke talk about what makes this season different for the Dodgers and whether the team will make the playoffs.
The Los Angeles Dodgers bring a vastly new look to the field for the 2023 season. Beat reporter Jack Harris and sports columnist Bill Plaschke talk about the upcoming season and how well the Dodgers might do.
Here’s the starting lineup for Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks on Friday
The Dodgers are sticking with what worked in the season opener, going with the same lineup in Game 2 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dustin May will be on the mound.
And here’s the starting lineup for the Diamondbacks:
James Outman sees his ‘dream come true’ during a rocking start for Dodgers
The pet rock that James Outman inherited from pitcher Marshall Kasowski at triple-A Oklahoma City last season and traveled with him to Phoenix this spring followed the Dodgers rookie outfielder to Chavez Ravine this week, though it hasn’t taken up permanent residence in Outman’s locker.
“It was passed down to me with the idea that it would bring good fortune,” Outman said of the gray fist-sized stone with a toothy smile drawn in black-magic marker as a face. “We had him as a mascot for the pitchers, and they started giving up too many hits.
“We figured it would be good for the hitters, so they gave it to me. But I think the expectation was that at some point, I’d pass down ‘Rocko’ to the next person.”
Dodger Stadium’s flickering LED lights annoy Diamondbacks manager and players
For months, the Major League Baseball universe wondered how the new rules for the 2023 season — most notably the implementation of a pitch clock — would affect games. Would they go too fast? Would players adjust? Is it all too much at once? It was the top storyline across the majors for Thursday’s opening day.
Another unveiling, however, snatched center stage and miffed the visitors at Dodger Stadium on Thursday: the ballpark’s new lights.
The fresh LED lights flickered, dimmed and changed colors at various points during the Dodgers’ 8-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. When Dodgers rookie James Outman hit a home run. When the Diamondbacks made a pitching change. While Diamondbacks relievers warmed up. It was impossible not to notice.
How much will the Dodgers lose if Julio Urías leaves? Scott Boras weighs in
Sandy Koufax and Clayton Kershaw were in the house. Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser were on the mound, throwing ceremonial first pitches.
That royal quartet accounted for 20 opening day starts for the franchise with the proudest pitching tradition in all the major leagues.
Then Thursday’s game started, and Julio Urías made his first opening day start. One and done?
Urías is the heir to the Valenzuela legacy, the torch bearer for a fan base that is half Latino, in a city that is half Latino.
“The closest thing to Fernando is Julio Urías,” said Jaime Jarrín, the Dodgers’ recently retired Hall of Fame broadcaster. “No question about it.”
Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 MLB season
Here’s a look at the complete TV schedule for the Dodgers’ 2023 regular season. All times and broadcasting/streaming platforms are subject to change.
New-look Dodgers provide plenty of optimism in season-opening victory
When Dodgers players walked into their home clubhouse on Thursday afternoon, they each found a bottle of wine waiting in their locker, an aged 2020 cabernet sauvignon from Caymus Vineyards in Napa Valley.
The gifts were courtesy of Jason Heyward, the 13-year veteran entering his first season in the Dodgers outfield.
They were more than a simple gesture of goodwill, too, serving instead as a subtle reminder for a transitioning Dodgers squad shrouded in uncertainty at the start of a new season.
“To make wine, you start off knowing it’s gonna take time,” Heyward explained, drawing a parallel to this year’s Dodgers campaign.
Betting lines and odds for Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks
The Dodgers (1-0) cruised to an 8-2 victory in yesterday’s opener, cashing as -165 home favorites. In tonight’s rematch, the Diamondbacks (0-1) turn to right-hander Merrill Kelly (13-8, 3.37 ERA) while the Dodgers trot out fellow righty Dustin May (2-3, 4.50 ERA).
The line opened with the Dodgers listed as a -170 home favorite and the Diamondbacks a +155 road dog.
Pros are riding the hot hand and have steamed the Dodgers up from -170 to -190. Currently 86% of bets and 88% of money is laying the chalk with the Dodgers.
Pros have also leaned under, as the total is 8 with the under juiced to -120, signaling a possible fall down to 7.5.