While most of Los Angeles was unable to watch their Dodgers start off the season with back-to-back shutout victories over divisional rival San Diego, we can still do our best to provide you all some of the highlights from the game last night. The Dodgers upended the Padres 3-0, and it was thanks in large part to Scott Kazmir and Yasiel Puig.
Kazmir was making not only his Dodgers debut, but he was also making his National League debut. Kazmir’s entire career has been spent in the American League, but he looked like a man possessed on the mound last night as he pitched six fantastic innings and gave up just one single hit.
The above video showcases the six scoreless innings that Kazmir threw, and it includes all five of his strikeouts that he recorded. The left-hander finished off his start by retiring the final 17 batters that he faced, which is really incredible when you start to sit back and think about it. Kazmir didn’t need much help, but he did get some.
Yasiel Puig drove in the first two runs of the game for Los Angeles with a blast to dead center field that went over the head of Jon Jay and rattled around the wall there. It was Puig’s second triple of the year, and he became just the second Dodger ever to have triples in the team’s first two games of the season.
A batter later, left fielder Carl Crawford drove in Puig for the team’s third and final run of the game with a slap single through the left side of a drawn-in infield. It was all the support that Scott Kazmir and the Dodgers bullpen would need in the game. The ball then got turned over to closer
Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning.
Jansen struck out two batters in the ninth, including ending the game on a strikeout thanks to his devastating cutter. The Dodgers bullpen pitched three innings and fanned six batters in total. Los Angeles cruised to their second straight shutout win to start the season, and now they look for the series sweep when Kenta Maeda takes the mound on Wednesday evening.
The Dodgers put together a quality game from start to finish. While their hitting was nothing like it was on Monday afternoon, it still was enough to supply Scott Kazmir and the bullpen with enough run support to get the job done. It was a truly fantastic game, and one everyone should be proud of.
Dodgers – Padres Game Thread, Part 2