Texas 8, Dodgers 6
ON THE MOUND: Closer Kenley Jansen’s one-two-three third inning ended with him badly fooling Jeff Mathis with a full-count slider that the catcher swung through for the third strike. Jansen, at the suggestion of former pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and former Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser, is using a new slider grip. The pitch, which Jansen wants to throw near 80 mph, has a tighter spin and more sink than side-to-side action. “I feel consistent with it,” Jansen said. “I threw the first one for a strike today and the other was a put-away pitch on a full count.” Left-hander Adam Kolarek, who will have to face more right-handed batters with the institution of the new three-batter-minimum rule, gave up five consecutive singles to right-handed hitters in a four-run fifth inning. Pedro Baez struck out two batters in a scoreless fourth.
AT THE PLATE: The Dodgers scored once in the first inning when Max Muncy led off with an infield single, AJ Pollock and Corey Seager walked, and Will Smith hit a run-scoring groundout. Enrique Hernandez hit his third home run of the spring, a solo shot to left field against Corey Kluber with two outs in the third inning. Zach McKinstry homered in the eighth and Edwin Rios hit a two-run shot in the ninth.
EXTRA BASES: Reliever Blake Treinen will throw one more live batting practice session in the middle of this week before making his Cactus League debut, probably next weekend. … Outfielder Joc Pederson, sidelined by injuries to his right side and hip, took batting practice at about 80% effort but is not expected to play in a game for at least another week. … Cole Roberts, the son of manager Dave Roberts and an infielder at Loyola Marymount, played all 24 innings of the Lions’ 4-3 loss to UC Davis on Saturday, going one for seven. “Man, that’s a tough first game of a series, and they have a doubleheader [Sunday],” Roberts said. “But he’s doing all right. He’s young.”
UP NEXT: Left-handers David Price and Julio Urias are scheduled to pitch two innings each against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday at Goodyear Park. TV: SportsNet LA, noon PST.