Ian Kennedy’s pitching helps Arizona Diamondbacks defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 – MLB Update
Ian Kennedy put in a brilliant pitching performance as he pitched just over five scoreless innings and struck-out six batters as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 in their Cactus League game at Salt River Fields, Arizona on Monday,
March 21.
Dodgers’ starter Clayton Kershaw, who was originally scheduled to start Monday afternoon’s rained out contest against the Oakland Athletics, traveled to Scottsdale for making an urgent start against the Diamondbacks. The Texas native who turned 23 on Saturday
failed to present any special movements in the ground and allowed eight hits in five innings. However, he had five strike-outs but consumed two important runs in the fourth inning. Kershaw is also slated to start opening night on March 31 at Dodger Stadium
against the San Francisco Giants.
Diamondbacks earned a lead in the fourth inning when Chris Young led off with a double and Miguel Montero’s single on a line drive to left-field. Kershaw, who tied for eighth spot in spring with a 2.65 ERA, awarded a second single to Montero who was assisted
by Melvin Mora and Xavier Nady. Both chipped singles to left-fielder Matt Kemp making the lead 2-0.
Dodgers’ reliever Mehay awarded one run on two hits in one inning while he was unable to strike-out any batter. Guiterrez and Sam Demel both succeeded in restricting the batters from making any hit in one inning.
Dodgers were completely out of momentum in all aspects of the game as they could not get more than four hits. National League’s Dodgers played for 30 at-bats and could not avail any of them.
Arizona, who has lost nine straight games, will take on the Cleveland Indians for their second spring meeting on Tuesday. The Diamondbacks have lost their first meeting with the Indians by a huge 5-3 margin at Goodyear Ballpark. This time the Diamondbacks
will strive hard to take their revenge as this win has boosted up their confidence.
Kennedy has been announced as the opening day starter for the Diamondbacks when the club takes on the Rockies on April 1 in Colorado. Ian was so impressive that he allowed just three hits and three walks without giving any run. He was assisted by Joe Paterson
who remained hitless in just under a single inning without striking-out any player. Juan Gutierrez also assisted Kennedy in crushing the Dodgers’ line-up with their scoreless one-inning spells.
Arizona played effectively, as they managed to restrict the Dodgers’ offence from getting any big hits in the game. The Dodgers will be looking to improve their performance as the regular season is right around the corner.
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