Bauer sharp in Dodgers debut

Trevor Bauer, pitching for the first time since signing a $102 million, three-year contract, debuted in Dodger blue with two scoreless innings Monday. He gave up one hit, struck out two, walked none and threw a wild pitch.

Bauer won the NL Cy Young Award with Cincinnati last year. The righthander threw sharp curveballs for his pair of strikeouts.

“All my pitches are pretty much where I want them to be,” Bauer said.

Mets

The New York Mets will honor the late Tom Seaver by wearing a “41” patch on their home and away jerseys this season. The Mets announced Monday they’ll pay tribute to the Hall of Fame pitcher by putting his number on the right sleeves of their uniforms. Seaver died Aug. 31 at age 75.

The right-hander is the Mets career leader in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He earned three Cy Young Awards during his 12 seasons with New York and pitched the Mets to their first World Series championship in 1969. Seaver also played for Cincinnati, the Chicago White Sox and Boston in a 20-year career.

Overall, he had 311 wins, a 2.86 ERA and struck out 3,640. The Mets retired his number in 1988 and he was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.

Royals

The Royals made official their $25 million, four-year contract with third baseman Hunter Dozier, ensuring that another member of their young foundation is under club control for the foreseeable future.

Kansas City has gone through several down years after back-to-back World Series runs culminated with a championship in 2015. The small- market club was forced to watch players such as Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas depart for larger deals in other places, then begin the slow and often painful process of rebuilding from within.

Dozier, the eighth overall pick in the 2013 amateur draft, always figured into those plans. He had a breakout season in 2019, when he hit 26 homers and led the American League with 10 triples while driving in 84 runs. His numbers regressed slightly last season, when he missed the start with COVID-19 and wound up hitting just .228 with six homers in 44 games.