Within fifteen minutes of the first spring training game of 2024, the Los Angeles Dodgers looked every bit as dominant as their enormous salary would suggest.
Before they ever took the field to play defense, they had an 8-0 lead against the San Diego Padres. With many of their expensive players out of the game, the Dodgers prevailed 14-1. The “Billionaire Brothers” of the squad, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who have combined contracts worth $1.025 billion, remained at the Dodgers’ Glendale, California, training complex, which is 11.4 miles away. So did Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Clayton Kershaw, and other veterans who are all-stars for 2023.
After taking a walk, Mookie Betts scored the opening run of the game in front of the 8,677 spectators at Peoria Stadium. It happened after Teoscar Hernandez, another expensive deal, hit a two-run ground-rule double. Comparing his one-year $23.5 million contract to the Dodgers’ high-priced players makes it seem like cheap chump change.
The Padres’ own Japanese import had a strong performance, which was a plus. In one short inning, Yuki Matsui demonstrated that he could manage the $28 million over the course of his five-year deal. His first few pitches were impressive, and it was made apparent that, should he establish himself as the team’s regular closer, he would be eligible for an additional $10 million in incentives over the course of the contract.
The 28-year-old reliever struck out the side with a fantastic splitter and slider. Andy Pages, a rookie, Chris Owings, and veteran Gavin Lux were all hit by him on pitches that dropped outside of the strike zone. Lux walked, Owings doubled for two runs, and Pages singled for two more in the Dodgers’ historic first inning the last time they faced each other.
The fact that Matsui threw a 94 mph fastball seemed to be much quicker, maybe because to his 5-foot-8, 165-pound build. In order to further enhance deceit, he also jerks his head forward after throwing the ball. All of it culminated in a strong performance that demonstrated why he had amassed 236 saves in nine seasons in Japan, while giving up a meager 467 hits in 704 innings pitched and striking out an incredible 941 batters.
Dave Roberts, the manager of the Dodgers, used nine pitchers for precisely one inning each, striking out twelve. Being able to assign so many players work at a consistent rate in the first game is a manager’s dream come true. Jake Cronenworth’s home run off southpaw Alex Vesia in the bottom of the fourth inning was the lone blemish.
Padres pitchers got 16 strikeouts. Journeyman lefty Austin Davis struck out three minor-leaguers around a hit, while rookie right-hander Jeremiah Estrada equaled Matsui’s perfect 3-K inning.
Joe Musgrove, the starting pitcher for San Diego, threw 24 pitches without recording an out. His 2023 season ended in mid-September due to a strained throwing shoulder. Hernandez doubled, walked, hit a batter, and gave up a bloop single.
Lux looked impressive jogging the bases after missing the whole previous season due to a serious knee injury. He moved over from second base, where Betts is now manning, to become the starting shortstop. He was the designated hitter.
Lux told reporters, “It felt good to run around and play baseball again, especially coming back here where I literally blew it out.” “Getting some at-bats, feeling normal again, and doing what you grew up doing is just fun.”
Lux was wounded on February 27, 2018, in Peoria, when he slipped while trying to go from second base to third.
Ohtani Has A Million Dollar Feeling
Although he didn’t phrase it exactly that way, the 29-year-old celebrity did indicate that his recovery from surgery on his highly valued left elbow is proceeding well. Although it is well known that he will not throw this season, he said he would take his time at bat in the spring and is optimistic he will be ready to go when the Dodgers and Padres play a two-game series in Seoul, South Korea on March 20–21, 2024, to begin the genuine 2024 season.
Ohtani told reporters, “I feel like we’re right on schedule, which is a really good thing.” “And so far, my body is responding pretty nicely. Thus, everything is moving in the proper way.
It will be ten more days until the slugger participates in a spring training game.
Yamamoto Sharp During Exercise
Some at Glendale liked watching batting practice, however Dodgers supporters found the team’s annihilation of the division foe Padres to be just as enjoyable. That’s where Yamamoto, who inked a $325 million, 12-year deal this winter, excelled. Watching him take on Ohtani was a large gathering. However, the $700 million man of the Dodgers got his cuts from a pitching machine inside.
Expected to participate in his first spring game the following week, Yamamoto showed off a nice breaking ball and expressed his excitement for the season to MLB.com’s Juan Toribio. Through translator Hiro Sonoda, Yamamoto said, “I’ve been feeling good.” “I’m simply acting as if this is a genuine game. Most likely, I’ll throw an actual game as the following phase.
It is a “safe bet,” according to manager Dave Roberts, that Yamamoto will start one of the games in South Korea. The right-hander told Toribio, “I don’t think that’s official yet, but if I throw during that series, it would be such an honor.”
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