Was it AI? A magic trick? No, simply actually the hardest break conceivable for the San Diego Padres.
A groundball by the Dodgers’ Gavin Lux disappeared into Jake Cronenworth’s first baseman’s mitt … and got here out the opposite aspect, trickling into proper area whereas Teoscar Hernández scored the go-ahead run.
A possible inning-ending double play as a substitute grew to become an error, the pivotal at-bat in a four-run eighth inning that keyed the Dodgers’ 5-2 victory within the regular-season opener on the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
Cronenworth’s mitt broke, the webbing unfathomably untied. He stared at it, he blinked, he shook his head, making an attempt to know the betrayal. Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani adopted with RBI singles and that was that.
“It sucks,” Cronenworth mentioned. “I don’t know what else to say.”
Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts said the apparent: “That was a lucky break for us. You’ve obtained to take them if you get them.”
Gamers figuratively have a gap of their glove very often throughout spring coaching, and this recreation extra intently resembled the Cactus League than the Nationwide League.
The Padres used eight pitchers, and so they issued 9 walks whereas committing 4 pitch-clock violations.
The Dodgers additionally had been sloppy. They went 0 for 14 with runners on base till the RBI singles within the eighth inning. Starter Tyler Glasnow spiked quite a few curveballs and botched a defensive play on a bunt. Ohtani did not retouch second base whereas returning to first on a deep flyout by Freddie Freeman.
Plate umpire Lance Barksdale wasn’t precisely in midseason type both. His strike zone was erratic and within the first inning was responsible of umpire interference when Padres catcher Luis Campusano elbowed him within the masks whereas making an attempt to throw out Betts stealing second.
“It’s opening day, clearly simply getting again into the move of issues,” mentioned Dodgers nearer Evan Phillips, who retired the Padres so as within the ninth for a save.
The groups will play once more Thursday at 3 a.m. PT earlier than returning to exhibition motion at residence. Opening day for the opposite 28 MLB groups is March 28.
