Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Likes What He’s Seeing Out of Ryan Pepiot
Rookie right-hander Ryan Pepiot continued his nice spring with a scoreless outing against the Oakland A’s in Mesa, Arizona. Pepiot commanded his mid-90s fastball well on Thursday, working around some jams early to get through three innings, as the Dodgers hoped.
After the game, manager Dave Roberts talked to SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson about what he saw and what he liked from the hurler.
“I thought Ryan was really good. He just continues to get better every time he’s out there. … He just kind of carried himself the right way. Another positive outing from Ryan.”
The Dodgers lost the game 1-0 but the important thing was the continued ramp up of Pepiot as he eyes a spot on the opening day roster. With Tony Gonsolin sidelined and potentially missing opening day thanks to an ankle sprain, Pepiot will likely be the first in line to fill his spot in the rotation for the first week or so of the season.
As Pepiot told DodgersNation.com in the offseason, he knows the biggest key to his success in 2023 is having better control of the strike zone and trusting that his stuff can get big league hitters out. While Thursday was another scoreless outing for Pep — his second in three starts this spring — he still allowed 3 hits and a walk to the destined-for-last-place A’s. Notably, that walk was his first allowed of the spring.
What’s Next?
Clayton Kershaw makes his first start of the spring against the Angels tomorrow afternoon at Camelback Ranch.
