Wood, Bellinger get food poisoning
SAN FRANCISCO — By process of elimination, Cody Bellinger was close to figuring out what caused his food poisoning Saturday. He thought it was a dinner of sushi or an order from room service. A clue emerged when another teammate came down with a similar condition: Alex Wood, who accompanied Bellinger to get sushi, spent Saturday at the team hotel nursing his stomach.
Bellinger said he could not remember the name of the restaurant. It was a shame, he explained.
“The food was great there, though,” Bellinger said. “And I ate there before, and I was fine. But I was throwing up so bad yesterday.”
Bellinger felt better Sunday. Manager Dave Roberts gave him the day off to rest. Bellinger entered the game in the eighth inning. He hit a double in the 10th to spark the goahead rally in the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory. Bellinger was able to slice a groundball into left field and use his legs for the extra base.
“I just wanted to get on base any way I could,” Bellinger said. “It’s a beautiful thing when you don’t hit it at people.”
The Dodgers shifted their rotation to give Wood time to recuperate. He will start Wednesday, with Hyun-Jin Ryu pitching Tuesday.
Maeda goes back to the rotation
After logging a scoreless inning Saturday, Kenta Maeda was not considered available to pitch in relief Sunday, Roberts said. Maeda was skipped during this turn through the starting rotation after Friday’s game was rained out.
The Dodgers expect Maeda to start a game next weekend against Arizona.
Maeda starred as a reliever in October. He returned to the rotation for the 2018 regular season, although his usage may change at times during the season.
Maeda is in the third season of an incentive-laden, eight-year contract. He receives bonuses for starts made and innings pitched. Roberts said he was not concerned about financial factors influencing his deployment of Maeda.
“I know that there’s something to starts in his contract,” Roberts said. “I don’t know specifics. I really don’t. For me, it’s better that way. Because I manage to what’s best for the ballclub. And I think to Kenta’s credit, he’s open to whatever the organization feels.”
Watson receives ring
Before the game, Roberts and Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, presented Giants reliever Tony Watson with his NL pennant ring from last season.
The Dodgers acquired Watson from Pittsburgh last summer and used him as a situational reliever.
The left-hander had a 2.57 earned-run average in the postseason.
Watson signed a two-year, $7-million deal with the Giants in the offseason.