LOS ANGELES, CA — Sunday was “getaway” day at Dodger Stadium with a 1:10 PM local time first pitch and temperatures in the 50s and 60s, not your typical Southern California weather for April. A night game would have been hard on these tired old bones, so the 1 pm start is much appreciated by those of us working in the open-air Dodgers press box, but how does it affect the players?
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Does it hinder a pitcher more than a batter? Will it be more difficult for a batted ball to travel? And why are fans drinking cold beer today?
Dodger starter Tyler Glasnow was the beneficiary of a double play to begin the game but then gave up back-to-back home runs to Andrew McCutchen, a first pitch 407-foot shot to center field followed by a 383-foot home run off the bat of Emmanuel Valdez, San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic. Be it the weather or something else caused by the “Baseball Gods,” Glasnow came out of the game after throwing a few warm-up pitches to start the second inning due to right shoulder discomfort.
Image Credit: Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
Meanwhile, the Dodgers got off to a great start in the first inning, scoring four runs, highlighted by a first pitch base hit by “Steady Freddie” Freeman to drive in the first two runs. What followed was an excellent performance by Ben Casparius, who took over for the injured Glasnow. He left with a dominant 3.2 innings, two hits, zero runs, and five strikeouts. The “Boys In Blue” and pairing of 2024 LatinoMVP award finalists showed some power in the fifth inning with a first pitch 402-foot home run to dead center field by Teoscar Hernández, Cotui, Dominican Republic, his eighth of the season + 200th for his career.
Hernández, a nominee for the 2024 NL LatinoMVP, is now the 29th Dominican-born MLB player all-time to reach 200 HRs.
Coming soon after was a two-run shot by Andy Pages, Havana, Cuba, his fifth home run to go along with a four-for-five, day at the plate that included four RBI.
The 2024 NL LatinoMVP Rookie of the Year finalist Pages had quite the day and showed that he can play at the highest level in any kind of weather.
Image Credit: Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
The Dodgers came out on top Sunday, 9-2, and moved to 18-10, in second place, one-half game back of the Giants in the very competitive National League West, while the Pirates remain in last place in the NL Central at 11-18.
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