If action was what you sought, action you found as prospects of the Dodgers and White Sox engaged in a slugfest to wrap up Saturday evening on one of five MLB Spring Breakout games on the docket. Despite trailing 8-2 at one point in the middle of the second inning, the Dodgers crawled back for a thrilling 11-10 win, putting on a show with some of their more exciting young hitters.
One of the standout performers in spring training, James Tibbs III, had the biggest hit of the game. Facing Nick Weyrich and his funky throwing angle in the second inning, the left-handed hitter had no reservations about swinging 3-0. Fed the pitch he was looking for, Tibbs III got a hold of a tasty fastball and crushed it to the opposite field for a three-run blast.
Counting his spring numbers as well, this was Tibbs III’s eighth extra-base hit and fourth home run. Acquired from the Red Sox for Dustin May last season, Tibbs III ended the year strong in Tulsa, and if his spring stats are any indication, he is a name to watch out for.
Much higher up on the Dodgers’ prospects leaderboards, Josue De Paula might not have had quite the flashy moment that Tibbs III did, but he made his presence known. The young outfielder reached base on three of four plate appearances, scoring twice and driving in someone. De Paula, who is 9 for 24 in spring, went 1 for 2 with a couple of walks and stole a base.
Moving over to the pitching side of things, we can say Cristian Zazueta did not allow an earned run, and that would be true, even if a misleading affirmation when it comes to the quality of his performance. For starters, the first run he allowed came largely because of a throwing error from himself on a failed pickoff attempt. An inning later, when the White Sox scored seven in the second, one defensive error doesn’t justify the frame snowballing quite so rapidly and radically as it did. Zazueta left the game with three runs having come across and the bases loaded—Lucas Wepf couldn’t strand any of them. Luckily, the offense was there to back him up. Eight for 18 with runners in scoring position, the Dodgers didn’t need a whole lot of extra-base hits to score these 10 runs, only two total.
Up next
It’s Freeway Series time as the Dodgers get ready for Opening Day by traveling to Angel Stadium for a date with the Angels. Youngster George Klaasen and the ultratalented Tyler Glasnow make up the starting pitcher duel; the first pitch is set for 6:07 p.m. PT.
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