Although the Los Angeles Dodgers already began their 2024 season in Seoul, South Korea, they still had three more exhibition games against the Los Angeles Angels to wrap up their spring training schedule.
The Dodgers hosted the Angels for the first matchup of the exhibition Freeway Series, with Bobby Miller on the mound for his final tune-up before he makes his next start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday at Dodger Stadium.
Miller entered the day with a 4.32 ERA across his three Cactus League starts, but he turned in a dominant outing to lower that number to 2.77.
The right-hander pitched 4.2 scoreless innings while adding five strikeouts. He gave up four hits and walked one, but he was able to strand all the runners on base.
Jason Heyward put the Dodgers on the board first with a two-out double in the second inning to drive in Will Smith. A bloop single from Gavin Lux allowed two more runs to cross the plate, giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.
That rally continued as the Dodgers loaded the bases and Freddie Freeman was able to work a walk to drive in the fourth run of the inning. The Dodgers did not score again until Kiké Hernández hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, giving L.A. their fifth run of the game and some much-needed insurance.
Following Miller, Michael Grove and Alex Vesia combined to pitch 1.1 scoreless innings. Ryan Brasier took over in the seventh inning but had another bad outing.
The veteran right-hander allowed three runs on three hits with one walk, recording just two outs and no strikeouts. His ERA across six innings this spring now sits at 12.00 with a 2.17 WHIP.
Evan Phillips pitched a perfect eighth inning by striking out the side, and Kevin Gowdy closed out the game with a 5-3 Dodgers victory.
Dodgers switch regular-season rotation order
The Dodgers pitching probables for the Freeway Series the next two days are Gavin Stone and James Paxton. That lines up Tyler Glasnow to pitch the home opener at Dodger Stadium, while Miller goes in game two and Yamamoto pitches the third game.
Stone is set to close out the series with the Cardinals, while Paxton makes his Dodgers debut against the San Francisco Giants on April 1.