Tim Rogers
The Dodgers played the Padres today in the continuation of the one-way rivalry in a Spring Training game. You clearly would not know that it was a Spring Training game based on some very overzealous Padres fans. The game ended up as a tie but there were some bright spots for some of our prospects.
The Big K
With two runners on in the fourth inning, Dustin May hit 69 pitches so the Dodgers decided to take him out. With two outs, Gus Varland, part of the Adam Kolarek trade, came in to face Fernando Tatis Jr. and promptly struck him out. From the perspective of importance, it is mostly no big deal but I bet it meant a lot to the Varland family. Great job, Gus!
A Surprise Rookie
Did any of you know that 32-year-old Mike Kickham was still a rookie? Well, we didn’t either. What we have seen from him is that he’s been pretty good for the Dodgers. He will probably start the season in Triple-A and could make an appearance in LA. The Dodgers see something in him as they have given him 10.2 innings in the Spring. In today’s game Kickham pitched three innings and struck out five batters.
Other Notables
DJ Peters smoked a double down the third base line in the top of the ninth inning to help get his slugging percentage to .519. His on base percentage stands at .412. He continues to have a nice spring and he should see some time at Dodger Stadium at some point of the 2021 season.
Landon Knack was brought in to the game with the score tied at 4-4 with two men on base and two outs. We did not get to see much of Mr. Knack as he “saved” the tie with a one pitch flyout to finish the game.
Padre fans after finishing a ST game tied against the Dodgers: pic.twitter.com/5GM54MVFjW
— Aqil Salah عَاقِل | (Len) (@aqilsala) March 20, 2021
It was so strange to hear Padres fans yelling “Beat LA” during the game. Pretty crazy.
Final Thoughts
The Dodgers play the Giants tomorrow at 1:05 PM PST with Tony Gonsolin pitching against old friend, Scott Kazmir.
Over the last few days we’ve seen some prospects struggle, especially on the mound and some of our fan reacions have been very poor. I’ll leave this here.
It is great experience for these rookies to try to work through these tough innings. These guys are very highly rated and are going to be a big part of the future.
— Tim Rogers 2080 ✝️🇺🇸⚾️ (@TimRogers2080) March 20, 2021
