Mariners, Dodgers bore us to death in 2-0 LA victory

Today, the Mariners headed to Glendale for a matchup with the Dodgers as their trip to Tokyo inches closer. It wasn’t great.

If you’ve been hearing about how exciting the Mariners’ Spring Training has been thus far and were hoping to finally see it firsthand this weekend, you’re probably a bit let down at this point. While Spring Training as a whole doesn’t necessarily exude a ton of excitement, it’s hard to have a more boring affair than the one between the Mariners and Dodgers today.

The bats were flat on both sides, though the Dodgers were able to push a couple across with a pair of solo home runs from Kike Hernández. Both came off Erik Swanson, who made his first start of Cactus League play since being acquired by the Mariners early in the offseason.

Aside from the homers, Swanson had a solid outing and wrapped up his day with just one other hit allowed, striking out four along the way. Zac Rosscup and Roenis Elías held down the fort from there, throwing a combined 4.1 innings of scoreless ball.

Offensively, the Mariners were only able to muster up four hits. Edwin Encarnación finally got off the schneid with a base hit in the seventh, and Domingo Santana kept his hot Spring going with a soft double down the first base line in the fifth.

Some Mariners youngsters got a chance to play later on in the game, including top prospects Julio Rodriguez, Jarred Kelenic, and Evan White. Of the three, Kelenic shined the most, making a great leaping catch at the wall to rob DJ Peters of extra bases, then walking in his first and only plate appearance.

The Mariners managed to threaten in the ninth inning, following a throwing error to first on a Daniel Vogelbach grounder and a double from Tito Polo. But an infield pop out from Tim Lopes and a strikeout on Rodriguez—his second of the day—promptly ended the game, finalizing a 2-0 win for the Dodgers.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Indians will make their way to the Peoria Sports Complex to face the M’s. Félix Hernández will take the mound in hopes of bouncing back from an awful start to his Spring. ROOT Sports will have the call at 1:10 PM PT.