In a battle between two of the biggest spenders of the offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers got the best of the visiting San Francisco Giants on Monday.
The Dodgers will try to do it again in the middle contest of a three-game series Tuesday night.
While the Giants will return to Opening Day starter Logan Webb (0-0, 3.00 ERA), the Dodgers gave some clarity to their plan to give a break to their starters whenever possible. Instead of returning to ace Tyler Glasnow on regular rest Tuesday, the Dodgers will go with a bullpen game. Glasnow will return to the mound in Wednesday’s series finale.
Shohei Ohtani has yet to find his power stroke for the Dodgers but did factor into the team’s offense early during Los Angeles’ 8-3 victory over San Francisco on Monday. Ohtani had an RBI groundout in the first inning before he doubled and scored in the third.
Ohtani led the major leagues with an average of one home run every 11.3 at-bats last season for the Los Angeles Angels. He has 30 at-bats this season and has yet to go deep for his new club, although he does have three doubles.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is getting a first-hand look at Ohtani’s work ethic and is confident the power is on its way.
“As I try to learn players, I watch how they handle things, their emotions, and he’s just very consistent and doesn’t waver in his preparation,” Roberts said of his new superstar. “He’s just so talented, so the hits, the slug, all of that will happen.”
The Dodgers’ other new power hitter, Teoscar Hernandez, did go deep in Monday’s game and now has four home runs over his past four games.
Like Ohtani and Hernandez, new Giants leadoff hitter Jung Hoo Lee was getting his first taste of the intense California rivalry and recorded hits in his first two at-bats. Otherwise, San Francisco was held in check by left-hander James Paxton, who went five scoreless innings in his Dodgers debut.
Michael Conforto went deep for the Giants on Monday and has three homers already this season as he looks to return to the form he had with the New York Mets. He hit at least 27 home runs in three consecutive seasons (2017-19).
Webb had a no-decision Thursday at San Diego when he gave up two runs on five hits in six innings with two walks and five strikeouts. It was a far cry from spring training, when he posted a 10.97 ERA in six starts.
“I think the adrenaline kicked in,” Webb said. “Spring training is tough because there’s not a whole lot of adrenaline, so you can get into patterns of thinking about your mechanics or the way the ball is moving. … I don’t think I thought about my mechanics one time. I was just going out there and competing.”
Webb finished second in National League Cy Young Award voting last season when he was 11-13 with a 3.25 ERA in 33 starts and went 1-1 against the Dodgers with a 2.08 ERA. In 12 career starts against Los Angeles, he is 3-5 with a 3.96 ERA.
In six career starts at Dodger Stadium, Webb is 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA.
–Field Level Media