Dodgers' Roberts likes what he sees as Ohtani goes deep
Shohei Ohtani’s first home run as a Dodger in Wednesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium set off a brief controversy over how the Dodgers retrieved the souvenir ball for Ohtani.
His second home run as a Dodger in the fifth inning on Friday afternoon landed in the Budweiser porch just below the scoreboard down the right field line — and came right back, tossed onto the field as is the tradition with home runs by opposing players at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
“It’s pretty impressive for him to be able to ride that ball out down below the zone,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the first-pitch changeup from Kyle Hendricks. “(Cody) Bellinger does that really well, too. So guys that can hit the fastball and something that’s offspeed, to still ride it out and elevate it, it’s hard to do. It takes a special athlete.”
Ohtani’s special qualities are well-established but it took time for him to get his first home runs as a Dodger — something that he acknowledged had given him some anxiety. Roberts said he could “absolutely” see the relief in Ohtani’s eyes when he homered Wednesday.
If relief can be measured in exit velocity, it was evident Friday. Four of the five balls Ohtani put in play against the Cubs left his bat at 99 mph or higher — a double (106.1), his home run (105.2) and two fly outs (110.2 and 99.2).
“He’s on the fastball, breaking balls, he’s taking balls down below the zone, which early on he was swinging at those,” Roberts said. “I think right now the timing, his mechanics, (he’s) seeing the baseball really well.”
The result could be another first for Ohtani in Dodger blue — a hot streak.
“I think so. I really do,” Roberts said. “Early on, he wasn’t synced up with his swing and mechanics and timing . ... If he’s right, obviously we know how special he is. And (Friday), another mhomer, a double and then just missed another homer. So I do think that hot streak is on the come.”
Player news
Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber will have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery, a major blow to the team and the 2020 Cy Young winner.
Bieber, who missed several months last season with elbow issues, experienced pain following an opening-day start in Oakland and again this week against Seattle. The righthander underwent imaging tests, and reconstructive surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament was recommended by several doctors.
The recovery time can take up to 16 months following the surgery.
• Spencer Strider, Atlanta’s ace and the major league leader in wins and strikeouts last season, will have tests on his right elbow Saturday after complaining about discomfort in Friday night’s game.
Strider lasted only four innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. He recorded four strikeouts and struggled with control, walking three batters in Atlanta’s 6-5 win over Arizona in 10 innings.
• Julio Teheran and the New York Mets finalized a $2.5 million, one-year contract, filling an immediate need in the team’s injurydepleted rotation.
A longtime Mets nemesis with the rival Braves, the veteran right-hander is scheduled to start Monday night against his former club in the opener of a four-game series at Atlanta.
• Mets newcomer J.D. Martinez played his first minor league game since signing a $12 million, oneyear contract late in spring training. Martinez was the designated hitter Friday night for Class A St. Lucie against Daytona and went 0 for 4 with a walk as he gets ready to join the big league club.
• The Seattle Mariners have finalized a minor league deal with 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel.
Seattle assigned the veteran left-hander to TripleA Tacoma. Keuchel, 36, is a two-time All-Star who has struggled in recent seasons. He pitched for the Minnesota Twins last season and went 2-1 with a 5.97 ERA in 10 appearances, including six starts.
Trout on the run?
Mike Trout broke into the majors as a true five-tool player who stole 49 bases during his first full season with the Angels in 2012.
Trout stole 24 bases as recently as 2018, but the three-time AL MVP didn’t steal that many in the next five seasons combined while age, injuries and the Angels’ overall philosophy slowed him down.
Before Trout took the field for the Angels’ home opener against Boston on Friday night, he said he’s eager to start running wild on the bases again — and manager Ron Washington is willing to see it happen.
“I think 20-plus would be cool,” Trout said. “Thirty would be really fun.”
Trout stole only six total bases in the previous four seasons, three of which ended early due to major injuries. He’s now a muscled, 32-year-old power hitter who doesn’t rely on speed, but Trout remains confident he can reclaim the form on the basepaths that made him perhaps the most versatile offensive talent of his generation.
He played in only 237 games over the past three seasons, but he says he can’t play worried about another injury.
“In the past I’ve been kind of holding back a little bit, because obviously the injury history,” Trout said. “But I just want to go out and play and have fun, play baseball. I won’t steal every night, but stealing bags and doing what I can to get on second.”
Manager Ron Washington said he won’t stand in Trout’s way for the sake of injury prevention.
“I don’t want Mike stealing 50 bags because I don’t want him hitting the ground that much, but if Mike decides he wants to get 50 bags and he can get 50, I’m not going to stop him.”
Tokyo time
Japanese baseball commissioner Sadayuki Sakakibara said this week that Major League Baseball has agreed to play two games in Tokyo next March 19 and 20. Sakakibara said he met with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred during the Seoul Series in South Korea featuring the Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
No teams have been announced as participants, but the Dodgers — featuring two-way star Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto — are expected to be one of the two. The Chicago Cubs — also featuring a pair of Japanese players, Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga — are a good bet to join them.