Capuano Shines in Dodger Debut, Win

The offense and pitching came out today. In fact, several innings went by during which Dodgers' pitchers didn't allow a hit. The hitting was more than enough to propel the club to a win.

Highlights

-Chris Capuano debuted with a strong 2 inning performance. He allowed just two hits, no runs and no walks while striking out three. He changed speeds well and hit his spots.
-Matt Guerrier followed with a scoreless frame of his own. Mike MacDougal's control was a little spotty but he left his frame unscathed. Todd Coffey looked flat out dominant, while John Grabow worked a perfect 6th.
-At the plate, Andre Ethier collected his third extra base hit in as many games, doubling off lefty Sean Doolittle. Hitting lefties will be the key ingredient to Andre's success in 2012.
-Dee Gordon led off the bottom of the first with a walk, stole second and was doubled in by Mark Ellis. Gordon drew another walk in the 4th inning. Ellis followed with an RBI groundout.
-Alex Castellanos, who I ranked as the Dodgers' 8th best prospect entering 2012, homered off of former Dodger Travis Schlichting in the 6th inning. He also grounded into a force out and came around to score.

Lowlights

-Juan Rivera went 0 for 3 and is still looking for his first hit of the spring. James Loney went 0 for 2 with a walk. Tim Federowicz walked and was hit by a pitch but still hasn't recorded a hit. He also threw a ball into center field on a stolen base attempt. Matt Kemp had a run scoring single but also struck out twice.
-Both Stephen Fife and Wil Ledezma struggled a bit in their outings. Fife worked a 1-2-3 7th but gave up the A's first run in the 8th. Ledezma allowed a leadoff double in the 9th, which scored three batters later. Neither Fife nor Ledezma figure to make the club out of spring training.

Up Next

The Dodgers travel to the Rangers' facility to take on Texas on Friday. Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to make his debut. Game starts at 12:05pm.