Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Starting Pitchers Looking Sharp in The Early Going

Los Angeles has what might be the best depth in baseball. Much of that is attributed to its vast starting pitching options.

While the Dodgers undoubtedly have a plethora of average arms, they also have a solid set of upper-tier starters.



Clayton Kershaw dominated in his lone inning. Eight of his 12 throws went for strikes, and Chicago couldn’t make solid contact. He’ll get the ball again Thursday versus Cleveland, though keeping Kershaw healthy is the only concern there at this time.

Rich Hill followed Kershaw with a solid performance in his own right. His curveball impressed as Hill tossed two innings, allowing no hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

Hill was satisfied with the performance.

“That was there today, and it was nice,” Hill said. “One of the things I’m working on is first pitch strikes. Getting ahead of the hitters early is something that’s a must moving forward. Right now it’s working on the tempo and the rhythm of the game. Sometimes you go a little too quick, sometimes you’re a little bit too slow. But that’s why we’re here in Spring Training. Nineteen of the 25 balls came out of my hand the way I wanted them to. That can obviously be improved.”

Kenta Maeda wasn’t as sharp in his two innings against the Rockies Monday. Maeda allowed a homer to Jordan Patterson and walked two, including lead-off man Alexi Amarista on four pitches. Maeda finished with 36 pitches. He admitted his control was shaky, but said he was satisfied and did “pretty well” with good body command.

Julio Urias, expected to break into a MLB rotation for the first time in his young career, started Tuesday against Colorado. He threw 14 pitches in an inning, allowing two hits, a run and two strikeouts. But similar to Maeda, the focus was more on his body control and facing live batters than it was the stats.

Scott Kazmir will start Wednesday, while Hyun-Jin Ryu will throw a sim game.

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Gabe Burns

Gabe Burns is an award-winning journalist. He serves as a reporter and editor at the DodgersNation news desk. He additionally works as editor-in-chief of The Spectator, Valdosta State University's student paper. Gabe's work has been featured on a number of platforms, including Draft Breakdown and Pro Football Spot. His byline has been cited in media such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. Aside from covering Dodgers baseball, Gabe enjoys watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Orlando Magic and Tampa Bay Lightning. He can be followed on Twitter at @GabeBurns_DN.

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