Daily Clips

April 13, 2015

LOS ANGELES DODGERS CLIPS MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015

LA TIMES: Dodgers hang on to beat Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-4 – Dylan Hernandez Dodgers' Zack Greinke, Yasmani Grandal still working well together – Dylan Hernandez Dodgers get their power game rolling in 7-4 win over Arizona – Steve Dilbeck DODGERS.COM: On field and off, Newcombe's life has benefited many – Lyle Spencer Cuban-born players support Dodgers' cause – Ken Gurnick Cruz likely to play Interleague opener in LA – Ken Gurnick Dodgers hold off D-backs' ninth-inning charge – Ken Gurnick Greinke gives Dodgers just what they needed – Ken Gurnick Day after early exits, Uribe, Turner available – Ken Gurnick Dodgers outright Webb to Triple-A Oklahoma City – Ken Gurnick Mattingly says rise of shifts is due to hitters – Ken Gurnick McCarthy aims to pitch deep into start vs. Seattle – Ken Gurnick OC REGISTER: Lineups: Justin Turner, Juan Uribe bounce back from injuries – Bill Plunkett Final: Zack Greinke dominant as Dodgers beat Diamondbacks Greinke helps the Dodgers avoid being swept by Arizona and is excelling as the team's stopper – Bill Plunkett Dodgers catcher Grandal defends questionable defensive reputation behind the plate – Bill Plunkett On deck: Mariners at Dodgers, Monday, 7 p.m. – Bill Plunkett ESPN LA: Alex Guerrero adds length to Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup – Mark Saxon Rapid Reaction: Dodgers 7, D'backs 4 – Mark Saxon Guerrero, Dodgers hold off Arizona 7-4 in series finale – Associated Press Alex Guerrero gets a chance to prove himself – Mark Saxon Is it time to put 'shift-gate' to bed? – Mark Saxon LA DAILY NEWS: Joc Pederson, Cuban connection lead Los Angeles Dodgers hit parade in win over Diamondbacks—Vincent Bonsignore Defensive shifts worked against Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday – Vincent Bonsignore TRUEBLUELA.COM: Dodgers Week 1 review: Adrian Gonzalez puts on a show – Eric Stephen Mike Bolsinger strikes out 9 in Triple-A Oklahoma City win – Eric Stephen Ryan Webb accepts outright assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City – Eric Stephen Alex Guerrero, Joc Pederson, Zack Greinke help Dodgers avoid sweep in Arizona – Eric Stephen Corey Seager enjoys fine first week with Double-A Tulsa – Eric Stephen DODGER INSIDER: Turner, Uribe injuries not serious –Jon Weisman CBS LOS ANGELES: Dodger Bats Come Alive In 7-4 Series Finale Over Arizona – Associated Press ISPORTS WEB: Los Angeles Dodgers escape the desert – Alex Campos Los Angeles Dodgers: Impact of injuries to Uribe and Turner – Nathaly Trujillo

THE BELLINGHAM HERALD: Seattle Mariners (3-3) at Los Angeles Dodgers (3-3), 10:10 p.m. (ET) – Sports Network SPORTS JOURNAL: Los Angeles Dodgers’ Joc Pederson Continues His Journey – Jim Hill HOY DEPORTES: Cortés: Dodgers y el problema de ser rico—Alejandro Cortes

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015

LA TIMES Dodgers hang on to beat Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-4 By Dylan Hernandez LATE-INNING SCARE: With the Dodgers ahead by seven runs, Manager Don Mattingly wanted to use the ninth inning to get some of his relievers some work. It nearly cost his team the game. Paco Rodriguez started the inning by striking out David Peralta, then induced Jake Lamb to hit a grounder to Scott Van Slyke at first base, only for Lamb to reach safely when Van Slyke tripped on the infield dirt. Determined to get Chris Hatcher into the game, Mattingly called on the slumping right-hander to face Chris Owings, even though Owings was 0 for 14 in his career against Rodriguez. Hatcher loaded the bases by giving up a double to Owings and walking Cliff Pennington. Nick Ahmed struck out, but Hatcher served up a run-scoring single to Jordan Pacheco, then further eroded the Dodgers' lead by giving up a bases-clearing double to A.J. Pollock. With the advantage down to 7-4, Mattingly called on Joel Peralta to replace Hatcher and face Ender Inciarte with Paul Goldschmidt on deck. More serious trouble was averted when a fly ball by Inciarte landed a couple of feet outside the left-field foul line. Later in the at-bat, Inciarte ended the game by lining out to Joc Pederson in center field. ON THE MOUND: Zack Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings. Greinke was replaced by Pedro Baez, who struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth. AT THE PLATE: Yasiel Puig hit his first home run of the season. Pederson and Alex Guerrero hit the first home runs of their careers. Pederson and Guerrero were both a triple shy of cycle, with Guerrero driving in four runs. MEDICAL UPDATE: Juan Uribe and Justin Turner didn't play, still recovering from injuries sustained the previous day. Uribe experienced no problems with his hamstring while under the watch of trainer Stan Conte before the game, and Manager Don Mattingly said he was available as a potential late-inning substitute. Turner's left index finger was still swollen, but the utilityman reported feeling better than he expected. ROSTER MOVE: Right-hander Ryan Webb, recently acquired from the Baltimore Orioles, was outrighted to triple-A Oklahoma City. However, Mattingly couldn't confirm whether the reliever will report to the minor league affiliate. UP NEXT: Brandon McCarthy (1-0, 7.20 ERA) will face the Seattle Mariners and James Paxton (0-1, 3.00) at Dodger Stadium at 7 p.m. On the air: TV: SportsNet LA; Radio: 570, 1020. Dodgers' Zack Greinke, Yasmani Grandal still working well together By Dylan Hernandez

Sighs of relief were exhaled around the visiting clubhouse at Chase Field on Sunday and not only because the Dodgers survived a ninth-inning meltdown by Chris Hatcher to claim their only victory in a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the fifth inning of the 7-4 win, Yasiel Puig blasted his first home run of the season. Later in the game, Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero launched the first home runs of their careers. "It's nice to get that out of the way," Pederson said. Whereas the home-run hitters viewed the game as the start of new stages of their seasons — or, in the cases of Pederson and Guerrero, their careers — starting pitcher Zack Greinke saw it as a continuation of something familiar and comfortable. For the second time this season, Greinke was caught by newcomer Yasmani Grandal. And for the second time, Greinke was spectacular, this time blanking the Diamondbacks over seven innings. "From the beginning, there haven't been any rough patches at all," Greinke said. "It worked really good today, but it's almost expected." Greinke compared his working relationship with Grandal to that with A.J. Ellis, who was the Dodgers' primary catcher for the previous three seasons. "The same thing when I was throwing to A.J.," Greinke said. "With Grandal, every time I've thrown to him, we've worked well together." This wasn't entirely expected. When Grandal was acquired from the San Diego Padres in the off-season, he was known as a catcher to whom pitchers didn't like to throw. "It's kind of interesting because of that," Greinke said. "You're paying attention to see what it's going to be like. But, like I said, it's been great. There was a little bit of a rumor, but he hasn't shown anything but positives, not just to me. Every one of our pitchers has been impressed with him." Grandal was pleased to hear of Greinke's early reviews. "It kind of feels like I'm doing my job right," Grandal said. "That's what I want to do when you have a pitching staff like the one we have. It definitely feels good to know the pitchers are behind you." Greinke was virtually unhittable on this day, as he shut down the same Diamondbacks team that scored six runs against Clayton Kershaw the previous night. Greinke (1-0) gave up five hits and no walks. He struck out seven and lowered his earned-run average to 0.69. Greinke's dominance provided a comfortable environment for Puig, Pederson and Guerrero to have breakout games.

Puig was two for 17 with six strikeouts in the Dodgers' first four games and was benched in the fifth. In the first inning of the game Sunday, Puig flied out. In the third, he walked. In the fifth, he sent an offering from Diamondbacks starter Josh Collmenter over the wall in left-center field. Puig, who was one for five, wasn't ready to declare his slump was over. "I'm still trying to improve my swing," he said in Spanish. "We'll see what happens." Pederson's home run came an inning later. Like Puig, Pederson entered the game in an offensive funk. Pederson finished the day a triple short of the cycle, raising his average from .176 to .286. Of his solo home run in the sixth inning, Pederson said, "It was a relief, you know?" Guerrero also was a triple short of the cycle, his home run coming in the ninth inning. Guerrero started at third base only because Juan Uribe and Justin Turner were injured the previous day. The start was the Cuban utility man's first in the major leagues, as he spent the majority of last season at triple A. He didn't appear in a game until Saturday, when he replaced Uribe at third base. "It's hard enough for players who play every day," he said. "It's even harder when you barely play." Dodgers get their power game rolling in 7-4 win over Arizona By Steve Dilbeck Ah, there it is. Offense, honest to goodness offense. The explosive kind that doesn’t just center on Adrian Gonzalez. The Dodgers found their attack in time to avoid a sweep by Arizona, downing the Diamondbacks, 7-4, on Sunday behind seven scoreless innings from Zack Greinke at Chase Field. The Dodgers pounded out 16 hits -- including the first home run of the season by Yasiel Puig and the first career home runs from Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero. The Dodgers scored single runs in five consecutive innings before Guerrero hit his two-run homer in the ninth to complete his four-RBI day. They were the first RBIs of his career. The Dodgers had dropped the first two games of the series, getting shut out on two hits Saturday.

But Sunday every position player had at least one hit. Pederson and Guerrero had three, Andre Ethier tripled, singled and walked, Yasmani Grandal, Jimmy Rollins and Gonzalez each added two more. The Diamondbacks managed to keep Gonzalez in the ballpark throughout the three-game series. He had a record five homers in the season’s first three games. Still, he went four for 10 with four walks in the three games, leaving Phoenix with a .609 overall batting average. The Dodgers opened the scoring in the third when Pederson led off with a double against right-hander Josh Collmenter. He was sacrificed to third on a Greinke bunt and scored on a Rollins sacrifice fly. It was the Dodgers’ first lead of the series. Singles by Grandal, Ethier and Guerrero added one more run in the fourth. Puig, who was benched Saturday after starting the season two for 17, hit his solo home run to lead off the fifth, and Pederson added his solo shot in the sixth off A.J. Schugel. It was also Pederson’s first career RBI. Guerrero doubled in the last run off Schugel in the seventh. He made his first career start, subbing at third for Juan Uribe and Justin Turner, who both suffered what the Dodgers are calling minor injuries Saturday. Grandal, Puig and Guerrero gave the Dodgers three Cuban-born players in their lineup. Greinke had his second strong start of the season. After holding the Padres to one run on two hits in the six innings of his first start, he went one better against the Diamondbacks. Greinke did not give up a run in his seven innings, holding Arizona to five hits. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter. Pedro Baez threw a scoreless eighth, but the Diamondbacks avoided the shutout with four runs in the ninth, as Chris Hatcher continued to disappoint. Hatcher gave up a two-out RBI single to Jordan Pacheco and a three-run double to A.J. Pollock. Joel Peralta had to come in to get the final out, and the unexpected save. The Dodgers were last swept in a three-game series in Arizona in April 2008.

DODGERS.COM On field and off, Newcombe's life has benefited many By Lyle Spencer LOS ANGELES -- In an eventful life spanning 89 years, Don Newcombe has a treasure trove of memories. None compares in personal impact to a dinner in 1968 at his Los Angeles home with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was 28 days before Dr. King's assassination in 1968, and he was in the midst of peaceful protest speeches, marches and demonstrations. On his way home to Atlanta, with an evening to

relax, Dr. King visited Newcombe and let him know what he, Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby and Roy Campanella had meant to the civil rights struggle. "He said, 'Don, you'll never know how easy you and Jackie and Roy and Doby made it for me to do my job by what you did on the baseball field,'" Newcombe said. "After everything he'd been through, here he was telling me how we'd helped him with the movement. I'll never forget that." As the years have passed, Newcombe has come to fully grasp how fortunate he was to be in the presence of this great man at this critical juncture in American history. "He was a strong man, a wonderful man who made a difference," Newcombe said. "He lived his life to the fullest, committed to the cause. I feel so fortunate that I was able to meet him and spend some time with him." Another memorable tribute to Newcombe -- a man born in common circumstances in Madison, N.J., and destined for uncommon achievements and experiences -- would come 32 years later from President Barack Obama at a fundraiser for California Sen. Barbara Boxer on April 19, 2010. President Obama referred to Newcombe as "someone who helped ... America become what it is. I would not be here if it were not for Jackie and if it were not for Don Newcombe." Dapper Don Newcombe followed closely on Robinson's heels, blowing away stereotypes while emerging as Major League Baseball's first great African-American pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1949, at 23, he was the National League Rookie of the Year Award winner with 17 wins and five shutouts, finishing eighth in the Most Valuable Player balloting. A 20-game winner in 1951 and '55, Newcombe had a 1956 season for the ages, winning 27 games and completing 18 while claiming the NL MVP and Cy Young Awards. He missed two prime seasons, 1952 and '53, because of Korean War military service, losing perhaps 40 wins, well within his reach at the time, that would have given him 189 total and enhanced his Hall of Fame candidacy. He never got close to induction. Big Newk threw his final big league pitch at 34 in 1960 for the Indians. But his prominent role in the integration of the game, arriving in Brooklyn a year after Campanella, his incomparable batterymate, stands the test of time. For decades, Newcombe has represented the Dodgers in community service, a responsibility he takes seriously. His passion has been a fight against substance abuse, turning around lives in and out of baseball. Hired by the Dodgers in 1970, serving now as special advisor to the chairman, Newcombe understood on a personal level the struggles of those in the grip of substance abuse.

Told by a longtime friend that he belonged with the legends in Cooperstown, N.Y., Newcombe shook his head and said, "No, I was done at 33. I have only myself to blame for that." "What I have done after my baseball career -- being able to help people with their lives and getting their lives back on track so they become productive human beings again -- that means more to me than all the things I did in baseball." Bob Welch, a great Dodgers right-hander who won a Cy Young Award for the A's, credited Newk with saving his life in 1980 when he dealt with his alcoholism. Welch wasn't alone. Maury Wills, the Dodgers' superstar shortstop during the glory years of the 1960s, expressed his gratitude several years ago in Newcombe's presence with the following tribute: "I'm standing here with the man who saved my life. He was a channel for God's love for me, because he chased me all over Los Angeles trying to help me and I just couldn't understand that. But he persevered -- he wouldn't give in. And my life is wonderful today because of Don Newcombe." Newcombe is left to carry on alone among his fellow trailblazers. Robinson died in 1972. Campanella -- paralyzed in an auto accident in January 1958 -- lived until 1993. Doby, who integrated the American League right behind Robinson, died in 2003. When Robinson was chosen by Branch Rickey and owner Walter O'Malley to shoulder the burden as the first African-American to play organized baseball at Triple-A Montreal in 1946, Rickey also signed Newcombe and Campanella. Newk and Campy began their careers in the New England League. With Robinson in Canada, the Nashua Dodgers were the first racially integrated baseball team based in the United States in the 20th century. Robinson crashed through the doors of misperception in his Dodgers debut on April 15, 1947. In eight seasons starting with Newk's arrival, the Dodgers played in five World Series and narrowly missed winning pennants in 1950 and 1951. The three pioneers endured verbal assaults, including death threats. It was through their persistence that a number of hotels and restaurants began to open their doors to African-Americans. The memory of how it all began remains alive in Newcombe. "My wife and I came out of a movie and saw a headline in the New York Post," he said. "I'll never forget it. It said that Montreal had signed Jackie Robinson. I knew this was the beginning of change. I said to my wife, `Maybe this is a chance for me and Roy.'" Cuban-born players support Dodgers' cause By Ken Gurnick

PHOENIX -- Dodgers ownership has committed more than $150 million to Cuban players since taking over in 2012, and Sunday's 7-4 win over the D-backs showed why. Alex Guerrero homered for the first time in his Major League career and drove in four runs. Yasiel Puig slugged his first homer of the season. Yasmani Grandal, obtained in the Matt Kemp trade, had two hits and scored twice as the Dodgers fielded a lineup with three Cuban-born players. The influx of Cubans (Hector Olivera is still waiting on a visa) is part of ownership's strategy to supplement an emerging farm system that has graduated Joc Pederson into the lineup as starting center fielder. Pederson, like Guerrero, hit his first big league home run on Sunday. Pederson and Guerrero each had a homer, double and single, part of a 16-hit assault behind seven efficient innings from Zack Greinke that helped the Dodgers avoid their first three-game series sweep in Arizona since 2008, even after a messy ninth inning when four runs scored with Chris Hatcher on the mound. Guerrero got the start at third base after Justin Turner and Juan Uribe suffered minor injuries Saturday night. He said he was especially happy with his performance because he had seen almost no playing time since the season started. Guerrero -- with a reputation for being a defensive bust -- fielded four grounders flawlessly. His defense was said to be so bad, the club would have sent him to the Minor Leagues this year except for the clause in his contract that prevents it. "He made all the plays look easy," manager Don Mattingly said. Defense has never been the problem for Pederson, who credited batting-cage work with hitting coaches Mark McGwire and John Valentin for helping him awaken from a 3-for-17 start. "It was a relief," Pederson said of his first Major League home run. "After the first hit, I've hit a lot of home runs in the Minor Leagues and you wonder when you'll get the first one. It's nice to get it out of the way and get back to helping the team win." Cruz likely to play Interleague opener in LA By Ken Gurnick The Mariners visit Dodger Stadium for an Interleague series and will lose their designated hitter, but that doesn't mean Los Angeles won't be facing Nelson Cruz. Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said he hasn't decided -- or at least wasn't prepared to say -- who will sit out on Monday-Wednesday. But Cruz, expected to play primarily at designated hitter after signing his four-year, $57 million deal in the offseason, has started four of Seattle's first six games in right field because Seth Smith is dealing with a sore groin muscle, and he will likely be there against the Dodgers as well. "I think it's pretty safe to say Cruz will be in the lineup," McClendon said.

Things to know about this game • Left-hander James Paxton has only started 18 games for Seattle, but he opened the year as their No. 2 starter as McClendon wanted to split up right-handers Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma and Paxton has been very good when healthy. He's made two Interleague starts and has a 0.90 ERA (one earned run in 10 innings) against the Cardinals and Phillies. • Brandon McCarthy gets his second start for the Dodgers, looking to go deeper than the five-plus innings he delivered in his first outing. McCarthy is 2-6 with a 3.88 career ERA against Seattle. He last faced the Mariners in 2012. • With Seattle starting a left-hander, right-handed-hitter Scott Van Slyke figures to get his first start of the year in left field. Van Slyke hit .315 last year against lefties. Dodgers hold off D-backs' ninth-inning charge By Ken Gurnick PHOENIX -- Dodgers starter Zack Greinke pitched seven shutout innings and his offense, led by Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero, racked up 16 hits to power Los Angeles to a 7-4 victory against the D-backs on Sunday and avoid the three-game sweep at Chase Field. Pederson and Guerrero had three hits each -- including their first big league home runs -- and both finished a triple shy of a cycle. Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig also hit a home run, his first of the season, in the victory. "We played so well today. I probably didn't need to do that well," said Greinke. Jordan Pacheco drove in Arizona's first run with a two-out single in the ninth to end the Dodgers' bid for a shutout. Center fielder A.J. Pollock followed with a bases-clearing double to cut the Los Angeles lead to 7-4. D-backs starter Josh Collmenter struggled with his command for the second consecutive start and was charged with three runs on nine hits in five innings for the loss. Of Collmenter's 74 pitches, 48 were strikes. "He didn't throw that badly, we were just in a situation where Greinke was so good, and we knew we were not going to get many shots at him," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "I wanted to use a pinch-hitter. He could have kept going." As for Greinke, he allowed only five hits and struck out seven in the victory. Every starter but Greinke had at least one hit. Cuban connection: The Dodgers started three Cuban-born players in the game and two of them factored in their second run, as Yasmani Grandal singled with one out in the fourth and Guerrero singled him home for his first MLB RBI. Puig joined the fun with his homer leading off the fifth inning. Guerrero doubled home another run in the seventh and homered in the ninth.

Family connections: D-backs pitcher A.J. Schugel was told of his big league promotion by Triple-A manager Phil Nevin on Saturday night. Less than 24 hours later, the reliever made his big league debut against the Dodgers in the sixth inning. Schugel made a nifty play to retire Guerrero, the first batter he faced, but Pederson followed with a home run. Schugel's father, Jeff, is a former Dodgers scout. Slump busting: Puig came into the game 2-for-17 after a Saturday night benching. Pederson came into the game 3-for-17 with eight strikeouts, but he went 3-for-4 with a homer, double and two runs scored. QUOTABLE "I don't worry about his velocity ever. That's not his game. It's location. He had some trouble with his location again and left some pitches up that got hit. That's the way it goes." -- Hale on Collmenter, when asked about the pitcher's fastball that hovered in the mid-80s mph "Just complete confidence that we were going to win. That's how I felt about it." -- Greinke, when asked how he felt watching Arizona's ninth-inning rally WHAT'S NEXT Dodgers: After going five-plus innings in his Dodgers debut, Brandon McCarthy makes the start in an Interleague series opener against the Mariners at Dodger Stadium on Monday. McCarthy is 2-6 lifetime against Seattle. Scott Van Slyke is likely to get his first start in left field against lefty James Paxton. D-backs: The D-backs will send Rubby De La Rosa to the mound Monday in the first of three games against the Padres in San Diego. De La Rosa allowed six runs in 5 1/ 3 innings against the Giants in his first start of the season. Watch every out-of-market regular season game live on MLB.TV. Greinke gives Dodgers just what they needed By Ken Gurnick PHOENIX -- If Zack Greinke opts out of his contract at the end of the season and the Dodgers consider whether he's worth giving an even bigger contract than they gave him last time, they might want to remember Sunday's 7-4 win over the D-backs. Following Clayton Kershaw's loss the night before, Greinke threw seven scoreless innings to prevent the club's first three-game sweep in Arizona since 2008 and the team's fourth loss in five games. The Dodgers are 22-8 in his starts following a loss. "I thought that was what we really needed today, for him to go deep," manager Don Mattingly said of Greinke, the first Dodgers starter to complete seven innings this year. "Clayton wasn't quite Clayton last night. To have a second starter come out and give us that game, the more of that the better. That's what's going to be the difference for us."

The D-backs' ninth-inning rally -- four runs scoring with Chris Hatcher on the mound -- underscored the importance of Greinke allowing nothing. He struck out seven without a walk, mixing all of his pitches even without having his liveliest fastball. Greinke is 19-1 against National League West opponents since joining the Dodgers and 33-12 overall with Los Angeles. He's 6-0 with a 1.38 ERA in his last eight starts against Arizona and has won five straight games at Chase Field. "That's a lot of outings," Greinke said about the NL West mark. "I don't know why it is. But it could change real fast, too." Greinke's brilliance was countered by Hatcher's struggles. He relieved Paco Rodriguez with a runner on first, one out in the ninth and the Dodgers holding a seven-run lead because, Mattingly said, he needed to get in some work. Of the next five batters, two doubled, one singled, one walked and one struck out. He threw 26 pitches. Mattingly brought in Joel Peralta, who battled for 10 pitches before getting Ender Inciarte on a fly to left-center for his second save of the season. That's as many saves as he had with Tampa Bay in 2013 and '14 combined. Greinke said he wasn't worried about the game getting away, and Mattingly said he still feels good about the erratic bullpen, mostly because young right-handers Yimi Garcia and Pedro Baez have done more than expected. Baez pitched around a double to Inciarte with two strikeouts in a scoreless eighth inning. "We've got a number of guys I've gotten more comfortable with," Mattingly said. "I have tons of confidence in Chris and it's going to work out. In general, we're gaining confidence as we go because of the way guys are performing that we weren't counting on." Day after early exits, Uribe, Turner available By Ken Gurnick PHOENIX -- The Dodgers apparently escaped a double disaster as infielders Juan Uribe and Justin Turner, injured on consecutive plays at third base Saturday night, were available to play on Sunday. Manager Don Mattingly, however, said he would try to stay away from both. Turner bruised his left index finger when he was spiked trying to tag A.J. Pollock, who was attempting to steal third base in the third inning. Uribe replaced Turner and on the next play felt his left hamstring tighten as he ranged to field Paul Goldschmidt's bouncer and threw him out at first. Turner's finger was still swollen, but he said he felt better than he thought he would after initially fearing the finger was broken. Mattingly said he might be available. Uribe performed pregame running drills and was moving at full speed.

In Sunday's starting lineup, Mattingly had Alex Guerrero at third base, joining right fielder Yasiel Puig and catcher Yasmani Grandal to give the Dodgers three Cuban-born players in the starting lineup. Guerrero, a shortstop in Cuba, has been much maligned for his defense since signing a four-year, $28 million contract and being unable to adapt to second base. But Mattingly said Guerrero was impressive at third base during Spring Training. "He looks more comfortable over there and that makes us more comfortable," Mattingly said. "[Coach Tim Wallach] has been surprised at how well he's taken to it." Dodgers outright Webb to Triple-A Oklahoma City By Ken Gurnick PHOENIX -- The Dodgers outrighted relief pitcher Ryan Webb to Triple-A Oklahoma City, the club announced on Sunday. The Dodgers acquired Webb with Minor League catcher Brian Ward and a Draft pick from the Orioles on Thursday for Minor Leaguers Ben Rowen and Chris O'Brien. That came after Webb was unable to make the Orioles out of Spring Training, was designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A. The Dodgers will pay Webb's $2.75 million salary. Mattingly says rise of shifts is due to hitters By Ken Gurnick PHOENIX -- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly spent the better part of another pregame session on Sunday discussing defensive shifts and why the media is making too much of them. Mattingly pointed out that the Dodgers were using shifts last year, before the arrival of a new front office that openly embraces the metrics that generate them. Mattingly also said shifts were present even when he played, if not to the exaggerated lengths of today. As a former batting champ, Mattingly said today's shifts are a reaction to the deterioration of the approach by hitters, leading as well to concerns by new Commissioner Rob Manfred that shifts are reducing offensive production. Mattingly, however, argues that it's the fault of hitters not using the whole field. He ticked off the names of great hitters -- including Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn, George Brett and Rod Carew -- who made shifts pointless by spraying hits from line to line and gap to gap. Mattingly believes the change in hitting approach in the mid-1990s to the long ball is at the root of what's happening and he admits that's annoying. "I think hitters went backwards, that's for sure," he said. "Talk to kids, there's a lot of stuff I don't believe in. I think it should be better."

Mattingly said his pitchers in general, and ace Clayton Kershaw in particular, are involved in the process of defensive alignment. Several Arizona hits off Kershaw in Saturday's loss defeated shifts, and his body language indicated he was annoyed at the result. "We're not doing anything a lot different with Clayton," Mattingly said. "He says he wants this guy here or there, last year the same thing. Guys have a say. It's not like we're dictating. You're making a bigger deal out of it than it really is. We're just playing the percentages, almost the same as last year." McCarthy aims to pitch deep into start vs. Seattle By Ken Gurnick The Mariners visit Dodger Stadium for an Interleague series and will lose their designated hitter, but that doesn't mean Los Angeles won't be facing Nelson Cruz. Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said he hasn't decided -- or at least wasn't prepared to say -- who will sit out on Monday-Wednesday. But Cruz, expected to play primarily at designated hitter after signing his four-year, $57 million deal in the offseason, has started four of Seattle's first six games in right field because Seth Smith is dealing with a sore groin muscle, and he will likely be there against the Dodgers as well. "I think it's pretty safe to say Cruz will be in the lineup," McClendon said. Things to know about this game • Left-hander James Paxton has only started 18 games for Seattle, but he opened the year as their No. 2 starter as McClendon wanted to split up right-handers Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma and Paxton has been very good when healthy. He's made two Interleague starts and has a 0.90 ERA (one earned run in 10 innings) against the Cardinals and Phillies. • Brandon McCarthy gets his second start for the Dodgers, looking to go deeper than the five-plus innings he delivered in his first outing. McCarthy is 2-6 with a 3.88 career ERA against Seattle. He last faced the Mariners in 2012. • With Seattle starting a left-hander, right-handed-hitter Scott Van Slyke figures to get his first start of the year in left field. Van Slyke hit .315 last year against lefties.

OC REGISTER

Lineups: Justin Turner, Juan Uribe bounce back from injuries By Bill Plunkett PHOENIX -- One day after losing two third basemen in a two-pitch span, the Dodgers had reason to be optimistic about the returns of Juan Uribe and Justin Turner. Uribe left Saturday's game with tightness in his left hamstring. But he was able to do some running to test the hamstring as well as other drills Sunday morning. Dodgers manager Don

Mattingly said Uribe was "somewhat available" to play today though Mattingly would prefer to let Uribe have at least one full day to recover. Turner, meanwhile, had his left index finger spiked on a slide by Diamondbacks leadoff man A.J. Pollock. The finger is still stiff today but Mattingly said Turner told him it felt "better than he thought." Turner is also unlikely to play for a day or two. That means Alex Guerrero gets his first major-league start at third base today. That also means the Dodgers have three Cuban-born players -- Yasiel Puig, Yasmani Grandal and Guerrero -- in their starting lineup for the first time in franchise history. Today's lineups: DODGERS (2-3) SS Jimmy Rollins RF Yasiel Puig 1B Adrian Gonzalez 2B Howie Kendrick C Yasmani Grandal LF Andre Ethier 3B Alex Guerrero CF Joc Pederson RHP Zack Greinke (0-0, 1.50) DIAMONDBACKS (3-2) CF A.J. Pollock RF Ender Inciarte 1B Paul Goldschmidt LF David Peralta 3B Jake Lamb C Tuffy Gosewisch 2B Cliff Pennington SS Nick Ahmed RHP Josh Collmenter (0-1, 7.71) Final: Zack Greinke dominant as Dodgers beat Diamondbacks PHOENIX -- Right-hander Zack Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings as the Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-4 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep at Chase Field. Greinke was rarely in any danger, scattering five hits. The Diamondbacks got a runner past first base against Greinke just twice. In the third inning, Nick Ahmed led off with a single and was stranded at third base three batters later. In the fifth, Tuffy Gosewisch reached base on an error and went to second on Ahmed's second single. Greinke struck out the next two batters. Greinke had seven strikeouts in all and didn't walk a batter. He has not lost to an NL West opponent since Sept. 2013 and is now 19-1 against division rivals since joining the Dodgers.

Shut out in Saturday's loss, the Dodgers had 16 hits in Sunday's win including Yasiel Puig's first home run of the season and the first major-league home runs for Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero. Pederson and Guerrero each had three-hit games. Pederson had a double, a single and a walk in his first three-hit game as a big-leaguer. That doubled his total coming into the game after a 3-for-17 start. Making his first big-league start in place of injured Juan Uribe and Justin Turner, Guerrero drove in four runs with his home run plus a single and a double. Six Dodgers had multi-hit games as the Dodgers took a 7-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Paco Rodriguez and Chris Hatcher struggled to close it out. Hatcher, in particular, was mainly responsible for the Diamondbacks' four-run inning before Joel Peralta closed it out. Hatcher gave up two doubles, a single and a walk, retiring just one of the five batters he faced. Greinke helps the Dodgers avoid being swept by Arizona and is excelling as the team's stopper By Bill Plunkett PHOENIX – If Zack Greinke is living in Clayton Kershaw’s shadow, he is thriving there. Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings Sunday as the Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-4, to avoid a three-game sweep at Chase Field. Greinke has now started 30 times when the Dodgers lost the previous game. They have applied the brakes 22 times with Greinke himself going 18-6 with a 2.23 ERA in those games. Nine of the past 10 times Greinke started after the Dodgers lost a game started by Kershaw, they won. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t really think about it,” Greinke said. “You still get nervous whether you’re the No.1 pitcher or the No.5 pitcher. “Everyone in baseball is in his shadow, kind of. Honestly, I don’t really think about it. If for some reason he wasn’t here and I was considered the ace, I wouldn’t think about it either.” It would be hard for Greinke to pitch any better for the Dodgers with an ace label than he has as the best No.2 starter in baseball. Since signing what was then a record deal for a right-handed pitcher (six years, $147 million) and now ranks him sixth among the highest-paid pitchers this season, Greinke has gone 33-12 with a 2.61 ERA. That is the highest winning percentage for any Dodgers pitcher who has started at least 50 games for them. “Clayton wasn’t quite Clayton yesterday,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said of Saturday’s 6-0 loss. “To have Zack come out today and give us a really good game – obviously the more of that the better. I think that’s really what’s going to be the difference-maker for us if we’re going to be able to move forward this year is where our starting pitching is able to take us.” What the starting pitching can do, the Dodgers’ bullpen seems capable of undoing.

Greinke’s seven innings were almost devoid of drama. He allowed just five hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven. The Diamondbacks only got two runners past first base against him. The offense steadily – and “luckily,” Mattingly would later add – built a 7-0 lead with Alex Guerrero and Joc Pederson each hitting their first major-league home run and having their first three-hit games. Making his first big-league start, Guerrero drove in four runs with a single, double and home run. Pederson came into the game just 3 for his first 17 but also had a single, double and home run. The Dodgers had 16 hits in all including multi-hit games from six players. But clouds gathered in the ninth as Paco Rodriguez and Chris Hatcher struggled to close the win. Hatcher retired just one of the five batters he faced, allowing a single, two doubles and a walk as the Diamondbacks scored four times and his ERA ballooned to 33.75. Mattingly later expressed no concerns about a bullpen that has allowed 11 runs in 17 innings this season. “Not really. Not when I see through this series the way Yimi (Garcia) threw the ball. Pedro (Baez) today was lights out,” he said. “So it gives you a number of guys you’re getting more and more comfortable with. And we have a ton of confidence in Chris even though it didn’t go very well today. We’ve got a lot of confidence in his stuff and that this is going to work out. “So, in general, we’re probably gaining confidence as we go just because of the guys on the periphery that nobody really counted on are really throwing the ball well for us.” Dodgers catcher Grandal defends questionable defensive reputation behind the plate By Bill Plunkett PHOENIX – Yasmani Grandal knows he has been labeled as a poor defensive catcher by many. But he doesn’t accept it. “That’s the way it’s been ever since I was in high school,” the Dodgers catcher said. “I’ve been dealing with this for a long time. It hasn’t been just the past couple years.” Grandal said he has confidence in his defense and has some evidence to back it up. He ranks high in the new pitch-framing statistics and had a catcher’s ERA of 3.35 with the San Diego Padres last season – despite the fact that he did not catch Tyson Ross or Ian Kennedy. But Grandal feels like two other numbers have been used as hammers to build his poor defensive reputation. Last season, he tied for the major-league lead by allowing 12 passed balls (despite starting just 67 games at catcher) and he has also been among the poorest catchers in baseball at throwing out baserunners (a career caught-stealing percentage of just 16.4). He dismisses both as invalid criticisms.

“The whole passed-ball thing last year, that was just – limitations,” Grandal said. “I had limitations.” Grandal is referring to his recovery from reconstructive knee surgery which limited his mobility. As for his inability to control the running game for the Padres – that’s not just on him. “People who know will tell you it’s not his (the catcher’s) fault. It’s the pitcher’s fault,” he said. “Whatever I can do to make myself better, I’m going to do it. But when it comes down to the whole throwing guys out and that stuff, I go back to video and I’m checking throws, I’m checking times. Throws are good. Times are good. So then the next thing is what was the timing on my guy (the pitcher’s time to the plate)? “I’ve also seen a lot of guys when there’s a guy on first all they call is fastballs away because that’s the easiest pitch to throw out a guy. I’m not going to do that. I don’t really care if I’m going to throw that guy out as long as I get the hitter out because he’s the guy who can do some damage.” Grandal has already received one rave review for his work behind the plate this year. Zack Greinke said he was aware of Grandal’s poor defensive reputation when the Dodgers acquired the catcher from the Padres but “he hasn’t shown anything but positives – that’s not just to me, that’s with every one of our pitchers.” “He’s been unbelievable back there,” Greinke said. “His catching is better than advertised. And working with me individually … I don’t think, from what I’ve seen so far, you could ever have expected anything more. “He’s done everything. His hands are great. He’s blocked everything I’ve thrown. People stole on him last year, but he’s had some really good throws in games I’ve thrown in spring training. And then his game calling’s been good. I couldn’t draw up a better catcher at the moment.” Grandal said he has found the expectations of Dodgers catchers – both defensively and in preparing a gameplan – are “definitely higher” than he experienced with the Padres. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly hints that part of Grandal’s poor reputation might be a result of the situation in San Diego. “He came with a really good reputation as far as the metrics and framing,” Mattingly said. “I heard a little bit of that (criticism of his defense). But the main thing when a guy comes over to a new team, a new organization it’s, ‘Clean slate. Let’s judge what we see, have an open mind and see what we get.’ “They had some seasons over there that went in the wrong direction. When that happens, you get some of that (negative) stuff.” NOTES

Both Juan Uribe and Justin Turner were feeling better Sunday after leaving Saturday’s game because of injuries. Uribe was able to do some running to test his left hamstring as well as other drills Sunday morning. Mattingly said Uribe was “somewhat available” to play. Turner, meanwhile, said his left index finger was still stiff Sunday but “better than I thought it would be” the day after. He played catch but won’t try gripping a bat until Monday’s pregame workout. … Acquired in a four-player trade Thursday, reliever Ryan Webb was outrighted and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Webb refused an assignment to Triple-A when the Baltimore Orioles tried to demote him last week. On deck: Mariners at Dodgers, Monday, 7 p.m. By Bill Plunkett MARINERS at DODGERS Where: Dodger Stadium TV: SportsNet LA, 7 p.m. Did you know: The last time the Dodgers and Mariners played, the Dodgers took two of the three games at Safeco Field. But the Mariners used six pitchers to no-hit the Dodgers in the opener of that series on June 8, 2012. THE PITCHERS RHP BRANDON McCARTHY (1-0, 7.20 ERA) McCarthy earned the win in his Dodgers debut last week, allowing four runs on nine hits in five innings of a 7-4 win over the San Diego Padres. He pitched into the sixth inning but gave up three consecutive extra-base hits and was done after 97 pitches. McCarthy has not fared well in his career against the Mariners, losing six of eight decisions despite a sub-4.00 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP against them. Vs. Mariners: 2-6, 3.88 ERA At Dodger Stadium: 1-0, 5.56 ERA Loves to face: Austin Jackson, 1 for 7 (.143), 4 strikeouts Hates to face: Seth Smith, 3 for 9 (.333), 3 doubles LHP JAMES PAXTON (0-1, 3.00 ERA) Paxton is the first left-handed starter the Dodgers will face this season. In his previous 18 career starts, he has actually been tougher on right-handed batters (a .203 batting average) than left-handed hitters (.238). But all six home runs he has allowed were hit by righties. The Mariners’

fourth-round pick out of the University of Kentucky in 2010, Paxton has a 9-5 career record and 2.68 ERA. Vs. Dodgers: Has never faced them before UPCOMING MATCHUPS Tuesday: Mariners RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (0-1, 6.00) at Dodgers TBA, 7:10 p.m. Wednesday: Mariners RHP Taijuan Walker (0-1, 24.30) at Dodgers LHP Brett Anderson (0-0, 4.50), 7:10 p.m.

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Alex Guerrero adds length to Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup By Mark Saxon PHOENIX -- As Juan Uribe tried, with quite limited success, to sing along to the old Motown hit, "I'll Take you There," Sunday afternoon in the visitor's clubhouse at Chase Field, a few of his teammates walked by and jokingly referred to him as "Wally Pipp." Uribe can take it. He has made a nice living in this game and, as long as he has been with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been a team guy. Plus, let's face it, Alex Guerrero isn't Lou Gehrig, even if he did look like a bit of a threat to Uribe's everyday job during Sunday's 7-4 Dodgers win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The win was powered in part by Guerrero's four RBIs, but it was also aided by rookie Joc Pederson's breakout game and Andre Ethier's two hits and Yasiel Puig snapping out of his power funk. It was, to put it succinctly, a balanced attack, 16 hits spread among seven hitters all the way through the lineup. When the Dodgers' new front office gave up the power of Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez, added contact-hitting players like Howie Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins, and tinkered like crazy at the fringes of the roster, this was the kind of depth they envisioned. But they hadn't seen much of it in the first five games. The Dodgers were hitting .233 and they got shut out by Arizona's promising young right-hander, Archie Bradley, Saturday night. But Sunday they sprinkled hits all over Chase Field, distributed from foul pole to foul pole and three of them -- one each for Puig, Pederson and Guerrero -- went over the wall. With teams increasingly shifting their infielders to prey on hitters' tendencies, the Dodgers would like to be the kind of team that defies such tactics. "I think it tells you that's a little bit more what kind of club we are this year, compared to last," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said of the balanced hitting. "Obviously, we'd like to make them defend the whole field."

And still the Dodgers' bullpen almost made it interesting, which is an indication that this team hasn't quite reached the level of functionality Andrew Friedman and his guys sought. Chris Hatcher has been given the first crack at the interim closer job while Kenley Jansen is down and he gave up three runs while retiring one batter, his ERA ballooning to 33.75. Arizona rallied for four ninth-inning runs, mostly on A.J. Pollock's bases-clearing double. It wasn't a threat, but it added about 30 minutes to the game time and left more lingering questions about the bullpen. Those questions will be harmless or pressing in proportion to how well the Dodgers' starting pitchers perform. And Zack Greinke (1-0) reassured some people by stressing that, no matter how much Friedman and his guys refurbished, this team is largely about him and Clayton Kershaw. The previous night, Kershaw was out of rhythm again at Chase Field and gave up six runs, a rarity for the reigning MVP winner. Somebody asked Greinke afterward if he feels he has pitched in Kershaw's shadow since he signed with the Dodgers three off-seasons ago. "Everyone in baseball is in his shadow," Greinke said. In his last 17 starts against the National League West, Greinke is 13-0 with a 1.60 ERA. The Dodgers dominated their division on the way to 94 wins last season and Greinke is a large part of the reason. That success just might go into his thinking as he's picking suitors this fall if he decides to opt out of his contract. It's still absurdly early, but things are setting up well for Greinke to pitch well in 2015, providing his health holds. He said he rarely feels in rhythm so early in a season. "It takes a while. You have one bad game right now and your ERA jumps up to like 10 and you don't feel too confident about that," he said. "Once you get enough innings and you get to know when guys are going to chase stuff, you get more confident about how much you can attack and how much you can nibble." Rapid Reaction: Dodgers 7, D'backs 4 By Mark Saxon PHOENIX -- Egged on Sunday by reporters asking about the team's infield shifts, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly went on a pregame rant about the inability of today's hitters to use the entire field. Then his team went out and gave a clinic in professional hitting, peppering baseballs to all the nooks and corners of Chase Field in a 7-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks that side-stepped a three-game sweep here. Sixteen hits and Zack Greinke's dominance are hard to beat. How it happened: With Clayton Kershaw off to a slow start in the first week, Greinke became the Dodgers' stopper, holding Arizona to five hits and no runs and striking out seven over seven innings. Greinke did not walk a batter. He got plenty of run support, though it took a while. The Dodgers built a picket fence by scoring single runs in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Rookie Joc Pederson hit his first major-league home run, an impressive opposite-field

shot, and finished a triple shy of the cycle. The Dodgers' hits included a Pederson squibber to third base, an Adrian Gonzalez double that bounced over the wall just inside the left-field foul pole and a Jimmy Rollins liner down the right-field line. How's that for using the entire field? What it means: The Dodgers avoided what would have been their first three-game sweep at Chase Field in seven years. Notable: Alex Guerrero might give the Dodgers something to think about if he keeps hitting and fielding well. With Juan Uribe struggling while nursing a tight hamstring and Justin Turner out for a few days with a finger injury, Guerrero got his first major-league start at third base and drove in four runs. ... Rollins made it to June last season before making his fourth error. With two misplays Sunday, Rollins has four errors in the Dodgers' first four games. ... Chris Hatcher had a rough ninth inning, allowing an A.J. Pollock three-run double among other things. The interim closer has a 33.75 ERA in his first week with the Dodgers. ... Yasiel Puig got out of an early 2-for-17 slump with his first home run of the season. ... Greinke gushed about Yasmani Grandal's receiving skills in his previous start and the two had good chemistry again Sunday. Grandal's pitch-framing also came in handy with umpire Angel Hernandez behind the plate. He got a strike called on an ankle-high breaking ball to Paul Goldschmidt that appeared outside as well. Up next: The Dodgers delve into the interleague portion of their schedule starting Monday against the Seattle Mariners. Brandon McCarthy (1-0, 7.20 ERA) opposes lefty James Paxton (0-1, 3.00). Guerrero, Dodgers hold off Arizona 7-4 in series finale By Associated Press PHOENIX -- Alex Guerrero was in the lineup after two players were injured in a span of two pitches the previous night. He got his first RBI in the big leagues, added another, hit his first homer in the majors and played solid defense for nine innings. Not a bad first day in the starting lineup. Guerrero homered and had four RBIs, Zack Greinke pitched seven strong innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers avoided a three-game sweep with a 7-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. "He's been hitting since all last spring, all last year -- he can hit," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Our biggest fear was defensively, how he looked last year, but he's been good all through spring." The Dodgers had two hits in a shutout loss to the Diamondbacks Saturday night, but were swinging the bats well in the series finale, hitting balls over the wall and all over the ballpark. Guerrero, in the starting lineup after injuries to Justin Turner and Juan Uribe, finished 3 for 5 with a two-run homer off Oliver Perez in the eighth inning. Yasiel Puig hit his first homer of 2015

off Josh Collmenter (0-2) in the fifth inning. Joc Pederson had his first big league homer and three of Los Angeles' 16 hits. Greinke (1-0) was sharp in his second straight start to open the season, allowing five hits and striking out seven a day after the Diamondbacks roughed up reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw. "I thought Zack was really what we kind of needed today," Mattingly said. The Diamondbacks fought back after Greinke left. They loaded the bases in the ninth inning off Chris Hatcher, setting up a three-run double by A.J. Pollock and Jordan Pacheco's RBI single. Ender Inciarte fought off several good pitches in an attempt to keep the rally going, but eventually flied out off Joel Peralta, who earned his second save. "The guys battled it was good; that's the attitude we have," Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale. "It doesn't matter what the score is or the situation we are going to battle to the end, 27 outs, offensively or defensively." Greinke pitched well in his opening start on Tuesday, allowing a run and two hits against San Diego. He ended up with a no-decision after the Dodgers' bullpen allowed six runs over the final three innings for a 7-3 loss. Greinke was good again, allowing one runner to reach second base while hitting his spots and keeping the Diamondbacks off-balance. "I tried to make good pitches and make the other team adjust," Greinke said. "That was the plan, to kind of mix it up." Puig broke out of his early season slump with one big swing. The Cuban slugger sat on the bench for Saturday's game against Arizona after opening the season 2 for 17. Puig hit a foul ball into the second deck in his third at-bat against Collmenter and straightened it out two pitches later, lining a leadoff homer to left in the fifth inning to put Los Angeles up 3-0. Collmenter struggled after getting the ball on opening day for the first time, allowing five runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings against San Francisco. He continued to scuffle against the Dodgers, though worked through traffic to limit them to three runs and nine hits in five innings. Jimmy Rollins had a sacrifice fly in the third inning and Guerrero got his first big league RBI with a run-scoring single in the fourth. "I've got to make better pitches," Collmenter said. "Even the ones that aren't getting a lot of the bat, they are getting enough of it so I have to put them in a better location." STATS

Arizona 2B Chris Owings snapped a 0-for-14 streak to start the season with his ninth-inning, pinch-hit double. ... Dodgers 1B Adrian Gonzalez is 17 for 26 with seven homers and 11 RBIs during a seven-game hitting streak dating to last season. TRAINERS' ROOM Dodgers: Mattingly did not expect Uribe (hamstring) and Turner (cut finger) to be out more than a few days. Diamondbacks: Arizona placed catcher Gerald Laird on the 15-day disabled list with lower-back spasms, retroactive to April 9. He was scheduled to start Saturday against the Dodgers, but starter Tuffy Gosewich had to play after Laird's back flared up. UP NEXT Dodgers: RHP Brandon McCarthy will make his second start for the Dodgers against Seattle on Monday. He allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings against San Diego in his debut on Wednesday. Diamondbacks: RHP Rubby De La Rosa will start the opener of a three-game series against the Padres on Monday after winning his Arizona debut. Alex Guerrero gets a chance to prove himself By Mark Saxon PHOENIX -- The Los Angeles Dodgers are without their top two third basemen for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks after Juan Uribe and Justin Turner left Saturday’s game with injuries. But the team's hopeful neither injury will linger for long. Uribe ran in the outfield and hit in the batting cages to test his tight left hamstring and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said that, in an emergency, he could play third base Sunday. Turner, who got a nasty gash on his left index finger when A.J. Pollock spiked him sliding into third base, still had stiffness in the finger, but Mattingly said it doesn’t look like he’ll be out for more than a couple of games. Meanwhile, Alex Guerrero got his first major-league start at third base Sunday. It’s a good opportunity for Guerrero, whose contract bars the Dodgers from sending him to the minor leagues without his permission. He will have to prove he can play at this level at some point. In 15 major-league at-bats, he has one hit. The Dodgers thought Guerrero made defensive strides in spring training, but they’re still a bit concerned with his ability to play third base. He had played exclusively shortstop and second base until last year.

“We don’t really have a lot of time with Alex because of his situation. It’s harder to really look at him and allow him to grow,” Mattingly said. “That’s where his situation is almost a negative for him.” Is it time to put 'shift-gate' to bed? By Mark Saxon PHOENIX -- When the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers' aggressive shifts a couple of times in the first inning to pick up a quick run against ace Clayton Kershaw Saturday, it had more to do with Kershaw missing spots than it did with anything Arizona was trying to do. That’s what the man who drove in that run while hitting a ball to the spot vacated by second baseman Howie Kendrick implied anyway. The Dodgers’ aggressive shifts under new president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman have raised a bit of controversy early this season because Kershaw has been beaten a few times when hitters defied their typical spray charts. The question that arose in Saturday’s 6-0 loss to Arizona was: Are hitters such as Matt Kemp, A.J. Pollock and Mark Trumbo able to actively beat shifts or is it pure luck? Trumbo, Arizona’s cleanup hitter, went with the “luck” theory. Kershaw was trying to pitch Trumbo, a tall power hitter, up and in and he left it over the outside part of the plate. “Against a guy like Kershaw, you’re up there in your battle mode. You’re not trying to steer the ball to right field,” Trumbo said. “Maybe if you’re going really well, you’ve got a chance to do it, but not against someone like Kershaw. I was always taught to go the other way, so I’m fortunate in that regard.” Trumbo, who has seen more and more teams station a second baseman behind the bag against him in recent seasons, said that shifts can be “demoralizing.” “When you smoke one and it goes right to the guy standing there it’s not a great feeling,” he said. Data indicate that leaguewide batting average on balls in play has dipped slightly with the rise of aggressive shifts. The Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates have been the most aggressive users of shifts in recent seasons, but 20 teams in the majors are employing them now. In a way, the Dodgers’ deployment of shifts is more a matter of catching up with the rest of the league than setting a new standard. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has gotten on board with the shifts. He remembers Tony LaRussa moving the shortstop near the second base bag when he was playing for the New York Yankees and the frustration of hitting balls hard up the middle and making outs. “I always used the whole field. You’ve always been taught to hit balls hard up the middle and it’s hard to get away from that,” Mattingly said. “You hit the ball hard and the shortstop happens to

be right there, it’s hard to get away from doing that. That’s what I’m saying. It’s not that easy to change what you’ve been doing your whole life.”

LA DAILY NEWS Joc Pederson, Cuban connection lead Los Angeles Dodgers hit parade in win over Diamondbacks By Vincent Bonsignore PHOENIX— Not that the Dodgers were too worried about Joc Pederson one week into his rookie season, but a young kid with big expectations getting off to a dreadful start is always a dicey situation. So just in case, a couple of observant eyes have been focused on the young center fielder this weekend considering the .176 batting average he carried into Sunday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. They came in the form of manager Don Mattingly. “Yeah, a little bit,” Mattingly answered when asked if he was keeping an eye on the 22-year-old outfielder, for whom much is expected after the Dodgers traded away fan favorite Matt Kemp to make room for him in the outfield. “Pay attention to him, make sure he’s keeping everything in the most simplest form, quality at bats and making sure, as much as anything, he’s just staying who he is and what he does. “I have a good feeling with Joc. We know the talent is there, of course you always worry with guys because he’s competitive and he takes things hard, so you worry about him (over this) period.” That concern lessened considerably after Pederson produced three hits Sunday, including his first major league home run on a blast to center field, to go along with a double, single and two runs scored. Coupled with the Dodgers’ Cuban connection getting rolling, not to mention a tidy outing by Zack Greinke, a big enough cushion was built to sustain a shaky ninth inning bullpen performance and hold on for a 7-4 win to salvage the final game of a three-game series in the Valley of the Sun. Pederson got it all started with a double to lead off the third, ultimately scoring on Jimmy Rollins’ sacrifice fly to center field to make it 1-0. After beating out a slow roller to third base in the fourth inning for his second hit, Pederson went the more conventional route in the sixth when he crushed a fastball from A.J. Schugel for his first career home run to make it 4-0.

By the time he came to bat in the top of the seventh with runners at second and third, the Diamondbacks waved the white flag an intentionally walked him. “It was a relief,” Pederson said of his first home run. “I worked so hard for a long time to get to where I’m at. I’m going to continue to grow. But it was nice.” As far as his slow start, Pederson said it’s all a matter of perspective. “There’s such little at bats at the beginning of the year, I think people just look more into it then it needs to be, you know?” Pederson said. “Over the long haul of the season, the cream will rise. You just have to grind it out and put together quality at-bats to help your team win. Advertisement “It’s baseball, you can go from 10 to 10 to 0 for 10 just like that. So you just try to avoid the roller coaster ride and keep grinding. Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ Cuban influence was in full affect. The Dodgers have dipped extensively into the Cuban baseball market recently, signing young stars like Yasiel Puig and Alex Guerrero and most recently Erisbel Arruebarrena. On Sunday the beautiful island 90 miles off the southern tip of Key West flashed its distinctive flair. Guerrero, pressed into starting duty after injuries to Juan Uribe and Justin Turner, collected his first major league home run and his first four career RBIs, adding a double and a single to his three-hit day. “It felt great,” Guerrero said of his first home run. Yasmani Grandal, who was born in Havana and grew up in Miami, had two hits, two runs scored and gunned down Jake Lamb to finish off the Diamondbacks mini threat in the fourth inning. But it was Puig, the most important Cuban of them all for the Dodgers and someone they’ll lean heavily on this year, who finally got going when he muscled a line-drive home run over the left-field wall to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. It was Puig’s first home run of the year, and came one day after he was given the day off to collect himself after Mattingly sensed some frustration setting in after Puig stumbled a bit out of the gate to start the year. In all, the Dodgers collected a season-high 16 hits, including seven for extra bases. Greinke, in command throughout, cruised over seven innings while allowing just five hits and striking out seven against no walks.

The Dodgers took a 7-0 lead to the ninth, then held on as Paco Rodriguez and Chris Hatcher combined to give up four runs. Joel Peralta came on with two outs and a runner at second to get Ender Inciarte to fly out to center field to end the game. Defensive shifts worked against Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday By Vincent Bonsignore PHOENIX >> It’s widely known the new Dodgers regime will lean heavily on analytics and data and the use of aggressive defensive shifts as it tries to lift the Dodgers beyond just playoff berths and into the World Series. Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers President of Baseball Operations, built a gleaming, industry-wide reputation on applying such principals to the Tamp Bay Rays, who crawled out of obscurity to become one of the most respected organizations in baseball under Friedman’s stewardship. Friedman was hired by the Dodgers last winter in the hopes of crafting the same type of prosperity in Los Angeles, and the success he enjoyed in Florida certainly buys him ample time to implement his philosophy with minimal push back. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be hiccups, or times when fans and even players in his own clubhouse don’t scratch their heads a bit. That seemed to be the case Saturday night when the bold defensive shifts Friedman and his staff brought to Los Angeles seemed to sabotage Clayton Kershaw’s second start of the season. And it left Kershaw choosing his words diplomatically after absorbing a 6-0 loss and manager Don Mattingly to petulantly defend the Dodgers early game defensive positioning. It all started in the bottom of the first inning against Diamondbacks leadoff hitter A.J. Pollock when the Dodgers moved second baseman Howie Kendrick alongside shortstop Jimmy Rollins, giving them three defenders on the left side of the infield. It also created a wide hole between second base and first, which Pollock immediately exploited by punching a ground ball right through the area Kendrick would have been manning under normal positioning. Conspicuously, Kershaw turned and glared inside the Dodgers dugout as soon as the ball passed through for a single. Two batters later the Dodgers moved Kendrick directly behind second base against Diamondbacks hitter Mark Trumbo, who took advantage by shooting a grounder through the space Kendrick vacated to plate Pollock. Kershaw spoke carefully when asked about it afterward.

“A lot of people do a lot of research and a lot of homework to put guys where they’re supposed to be,” he said. “You execute the game plan, the theory is they’ll hit it where they are. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn’t.” And maybe it was just a coincidence Pollock and Trumbo hit balls in the exact hole created by shifting Kendrick away from his normal spot. Mattingly seemed to think so, emphatically shooting down any thought opposing hitters can knowingly exploit the man-man infield holes caused by defensive shifts. Advertisement “Let’s get this straight, these guys aren’t that good as far as being able to hit the ball where ever they want whenever they want to. Balls go in certain places, you’re playing shifts, you’re playing percentages. That’s the way it’s been going on for a long time. It’s getting more aggressive now. There’s gonna be times when they hit the ball where you’re not. “If guys were that good they wouldn’t be striking out at astronomical numbers, putting the ball in play where they wanted to. The commissioner wouldn’t be talking about banning shifts. If they could hit the ball where they wanted to they would, Hitters in general are not that good.” Maybe Mattingly is right, and maybe he is just as devoted to the aggressive defensive shifting philosophy as his bosses. But it’s also worth noting Friedman was sitting in on Mattingly’s postgame interview session. Not to say Mattingly went out of his way to defend the tactic with his boss sitting just a few feet away, but Friedman’s presence was certainly conspicuous. By Sunday morning, he left room that if certain players start showing they can use the whole field more rather than continually hit to one side or one part of the field, the Dodgers may alter the approach. “If they show us they’re going to make changes, then it changes the way you defend,” Mattingly said.. Mattingly also said the Dodgers are probably more aggressive thus far with the switch compared to last season, but that Kershaw and his fellow pitchers are all part of the process in deciding how to defend opposing players. ON THE MEND As Justin Turner made his way across the Dodgers clubhouse Sunday morning, someone asked him how his left index finger was doing after leaving Saturday’s game after getting spiked. “It’s still attached,” Turner said. “It didn’t fall off.” All things considered, that was a good thing.

Neither Turner or Juan Uribe – who replaced Turner at third base only to be forced out of the game after his left hamstring tightened up – were out of the lineup Sunday but cautiously optimistic they’d be OK if called upon. “Actually pretty good (reports) on both,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “Juan came out and ran, did a lot of things. Saw him in there hitting as I walked out. I think he’s going to be somewhat available today. I’m gonna try to stay away from him but if we had to put him at third and double switch him I think, from the training staff, we’d be comfortable doing that. As for Turner, Mattingly wasn’t sure early Sunday whether he’d be available. “He’s gonna try to do some things and see as the day goes along,” Mattingly said. “A lot of times guys start doing their little treatment and stuff and it starts loosening up. So we’ll just have to see how that goes.” THIS AND THAT As of Sunday morning, Mattingly had still not decided on a starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners. ... Ryan Webb, the relief pitcher the Dodgers acquired from Baltimore on Thursday for a pair of minor leaguers, was out-righted to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

TRUEBLUELA.COM Dodgers Week 1 review: Adrian Gonzalez puts on a show By Eric Stephen The Dodgers had their moments in the first week, but were also inconsistent, and the result was a .500 week, taking two of three from the darling Padres, then dropping two of three in the desert to the Diamondbacks. Dodger Batter of the Week: First baseman Adrian Gonzalez had the hottest start in baseball, going 14-for-23 (.609) with five home runs and three doubles in the season's opening week, driving in seven runs and scoring eight. On Wednesday, Gonzalez before the game was presented his 2014 Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards, then hit three home runs to beat the Padres. Gonzalez became the first player in major league history to hit five home runs in his team's first three games of the season. He hit no home runs in the weekend series in Phoenix, but was still hot in the desert, hitting .400 (4-for-10) with a double and four walks. Dodger Pitcher of the Week: Zack Greinke allowed only one run in his two starts, striking out 11 with one walk in his 13 innings, improving to 19-1 in his career against the National League West. Adrian Gonzalez hit three home runs against his old team. (Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea | USA Today Sports). Week 1 Record: 3-3

26 runs scored (4.33 per game) 28 runs allowed (4.67 per game) .466 pythagorean winning percentage Miscellany 10-hit series: Not only did Gonzalez have at least three hits in each of his first three games, the first National League player to do so since Orlando Cepeda in 1963. But Gonzalez also collected 10 total hits in three games against the Padres, the third time in his career he had at least 10 hits in a series of three games or less, per Stats LLC. Gonzalez also had 10 hits for the Red Sox against the Cubs from May 20-22, 2011, and had 11 hits for the Padres against the Brewers from August 11-13, 2009. Extra, extra, read all about it: Through six games the Dodgers have 14 doubles, three doubles and 10 home runs. The 27 extra-base hits are their most in franchise history through the first six games of the season, dating back to at least 1914. The previous best was 25 extra-base hits, accomplished in 1948, 1955 and 1977. Rarity for Rollins: Jimmy Rollins, who was the hero of opening day with a three-run, game-winning home run in the eighth inning and drove in seven runs during the week to tie for the team lead, had four errors in a week for the first time in his career in his first week with the Dodgers. In 2,058 games at shortstop in his over 14 years with the Phillies, Rollins made two errors in a game just four times (May 17, 2005; Sept. 27, 2006; Sept. 10, 2009; Aug. 10, 2010). But he did so twice this week with the Dodgers, making two errors both Tuesday and Sunday. Walking in LA: In his Dodgers debut on Wednesday, Brandon McCarthy got a piece of a 99-mph fastball from Andrew Cashner, fouling off a full count pitch with the bases loaded. The next pitch was out of the strike zone, giving McCarthy the first RBI by a Dodgers pitcher in 2015. It was the first bases loaded walk by a Dodgers pitcher since 2011, when Hiroki Kuroda's walk against Tim Stauffer on Aug. 30 was the club's third bases-loaded walk by a pitcher that season. First impressions: On Sunday in Phoenix, both Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero had three hits, each falling a triple shy of the cycle. Both hit their first major league home run, and both drove in their first major league run against the Diamondbacks. For Guerrero, it was also his first major league start, at third base. Transactions Thursday: The Dodgers acquired relief pitcher Ryan Webb, minor league catcher Brian Ward and competitive balance round B pick, No. 74 overall in the 2015 draft from the Orioles in exchange for minor league catcher Chris O`Brien and minor league pitcher Ben Rowen. Sunday: The club sent Webb and his $2.75 million salary outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and the veteran reliever accepted the assignment. Game Results Monday: Dodgers 6, Padres 3

Tuesday: Padres 7, Dodgers 3 Wednesday: Dodgers 7, Padres 4 Friday: Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 3 (10) Saturday: Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 0 Sunday: Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks 4 Upcoming Week The Dodgers run the Mike Kingery gauntlet with a homestand against the Mariners and Rockies, plus a Thursday off day mixed in. Wednesday is the 2015 Civil Rights Game and Jackie Robinson Day; the ESPN2 broadcast is a full national broadcast and won't be blacked out in the Los Angeles area.

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

13 vs Sea 7:10pm

14 vs Sea 7:10pm

15 vs Sea 7:10pm

16 Off

17 vs Col 7:10pm

18 vs Col 6:10pm

19 vs Col 1:10pm

McCarthy v. (L) Paxton

TBA v. (R) Iwakuma

Anderson v. (R) Walker

Kershaw v. (R) Kendrick

Greinke v. (R) Lyles

McCarthy v. (R) Butler

SNLA SNLA/MLBN SNLA/ESPN2

SNLA SNLA SNLA

Week 1 Stats

Player PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB/CS BA/OBP/SLG OPS

Gonzalez 27 23 8 14 3 0 5 7 4 0/0 .609/.667/1.391 2.058

Pederson 24 21 5 6 3 0 1 1 3 1/0 .286/.375/.571 .946

Rollins 29 26 1 7 2 1 1 7 2 2/1 .269/.310/.538 .849

Grandal 17 14 3 3 0 0 1 1 3 0/0 .214/.353/.429 .782

Kendrick 25 24 1 7 2 1 0 2 1 1/2 .292/.320/.458 .778

Crawford 19 18 1 5 2 0 0 1 1 0/0 .278/.316/.389 .705

Puig 25 22 2 3 1 0 1 2 2 0/1 .136/.240/.318 .558

Uribe 14 13 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 0/0 .231/.286/.231 .516

Guerrero 7 7 1 3 1 0 1 4 0 0/0 .429/.429/1.000 1.429

Ethier 12 10 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 0/0 .200/.333/.400 .733

Van Slyke 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0/0 .000/.500/.000 .500

Turner 6 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 .167/.167/.167 .333

Ellis 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0/0 .000/.143/.000 .143

Barney 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/0 .000/.000/.000 .000

Pitchers 13 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0/0 .000/.167/.000 .167

Totals 230 203 26 54 14 3 10 26 23 4/4 .266/.345/.512 .857

Pitcher G W-L Sv IP H R ER BB K ERA WHIP FIP*

Greinke 2 1-0 -- 13 7 1 1 1 11 0.69 0.615 1.44

Anderson 1 0-0 -- 6 5 3 3 1 4 4.50 1.000 4.23

Kershaw 2 0-1 -- 12⅓ 16 9 8 5 14 5.84 1.703 3.14

McCarthy 1 1-0 -- 5 9 4 4 1 9 7.20 2.000 5.10

Starters 6 2-1 -- 36⅓ 37 17 16 8 38 3.96 1.239 2.98

Peralta 4 1-0 2 3⅓ 2 0 0 0 3 0.00 0.600 1.10

Baez 3 0-0 -- 3⅓ 2 1 0 0 5 0.00 0.600 (0.10)

Nicasio 2 0-0 -- 2⅔ 2 0 0 0 3 0.00 0.750 0.65

Garcia 3 0-0 -- 4 2 1 1 1 6 2.25 0.750 (0.10)

Howell 3 0-1 -- 1⅔ 3 1 1 2 1 5.40 3.000 5.30

Rodriguez 3 0-0 -- ⅔ 2 1 1 0 2 13.50 3.000 (3.10)

Hatcher 3 0-1 1 1⅓ 6 7 5 1 2 33.75 5.250 4.40

Relievers 6 1-2 3 17 19 11 8 4 22 4.24 1.353 1.02

Totals 6 3-3 3 53⅓ 56 28 24 12 60 4.05 1.275 2.36

*FIP is estimated Mike Bolsinger strikes out 9 in Triple-A Oklahoma City win By Eric Stephen The story of the first week in the minors for the Dodgers has been the pitching of Triple-A Oklahoma City, which has allowed nine runs in four games, including a shutout on Sunday afternoon. Player of the day In a Simple Minds outing, Mike Bolsinger on Sunday tried to make sure the Dodgers starting pitching depth chart didn't forget about him. The right-hander struck out nine and allowed only one hit and two walks in six scoreless inning in a win for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Triple-A Oklahoma City In addition to Bolsinger's great outing, the Dodgers got scoreless innings in relief out of Ryan Buchter, Sergio Santos and Josh Ravin, the latter two with two strikeouts each and Ravin earning

the save in a 2-0 win over the Round Rock Express (Rangers). The Oklahoma City pitching stuff has a 2.25 ERA through four games, with 44 strikeouts and seven walks in 36 innings. New catcher Brian Ward, acquired from Baltimore on Thursday, was 0-for-1 in his Dodgers organization debut, but also walked twice, including a bases-loaded free pass in the sixth to plate the Dodgers' second run. Double-A Tulsa The Drillers lost 4-0 to the Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros), though Corey Seager did have his third multi-hit contest in four games. Tulsa had a couple of notable relief outings, with Fabio Martinez striking out two in his two scoreless innings, while Ralston Cash struck out three in his two innings, allowing only an unearned run. Class-A Rancho Cucamonga The Quakes fell to the Bakersfield Blaze (Mariners) 7-2, thanks to a four-run sixth inning that saw Victor Araujo allow two home runs, and all four runs. Brandon Trinkwon, Joey Curletta and Adam Law each had two hits and a double for the Quakes in defeat, with law hitting two doubles. Albert Vanegas, drafted by the Dodgers in the 11th round in 2014, made his California League debut, allowing a run in two innings in relief, but also with four strikeouts. Low Class-A Great Lakes The Loons took out the frustration of three days of postponements on the West Michiagan Whitecaps (Tigers) in a 5-1 road win on what was a belated opening day for Great Lakes. Yadir Drake doubled home Jimmy Allen in the first inning for the Loons' first run of the season. Both Drake and Allen ended with two hits, as did left fielder Jacob Scavuzzo. Brock Stewart, drafted by the Dodgers in the sixth round in 2014, struck out six in five innings, allowing only one run to pick up the win. Transactions Relief pitcher Ryan Webb was sent outright to Triple-A, but he hasn't yet been added to Oklahoma City's roster. Sunday box scores Oklahoma City 2, Round Rock 0 Corpus Christi 4, Tulsa 0 Bakersfield 7, Rancho Cucamonga 2 Great Lakes 5, West Michigan 1 Monday schedule & pitchers

3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Grant Holmes) at West Michigan (Trent Szkutnik) 5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Joe Wieland) vs. Nashville (Brad Mills) All eyes will be on Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, wondering if Wieland will in fact make that start, or perhaps be held for a one-day trip to Los Angeles for a spot start Tuesday night for the Dodgers. Wieland could only be recalled Tuesday if someone else — like Juan Uribe or Justin Turner, though neither seem likely to miss that much time — goes on the disabled list. 5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Matt Shelton) vs. Corpus Christi (Mike Hauschild) 7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Michael Johnson) at Inland Empire (Jordan Kipper) Ryan Webb accepts outright assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City By Eric Stephen LOS ANGELES -- New Dodgers relief pitcher isn't quite a Dodgers relief pitcher just yet, at least not in Los Angeles. a Ryan Webb, acquired via trade from the Orioles on Thursday, was sent outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, and has accepted the assignment. Webb was designated for assignment by Baltimore on Monday and, before he was traded, told the Orioles he would not accept an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. "That's already been taken care of," Webb said Monday, per Roch Kubatko of MASN. "I will not accept assignment." Webb, 29, was 3-3 with a 3.83 ERA and 2.95 FIP in 51 games for Baltimore in 2014, with 37 strikeouts and 12 walks in 49⅓ innings. With five years, 11 days of service time, Webb had the right to decline a minor league assignment but chose to accept a stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City that he likely expects to be temporary. The Dodgers are responsible for all but four days of Webb's $2.75 million salary this season. He represents the kind of expensive depth the Dodgers have been able to add to its minors rosters, whether on or off the 40-man roster. Webb joins outfielder Chris Heisey ($2.16 million) in Triple-A, while Erisbel Arruebarrena ($3 million) remains in extended spring training back at Camelback Ranch in Arizona. With Webb now off, the Dodgers have 39 players on the 40-man roster. Though that could change as early as Tuesday if Scott Baker or David Huff get the call to start for the Dodgers in the first game they need a fifth starter this season. Alex Guerrero, Joc Pederson, Zack Greinke help Dodgers avoid sweep in Arizona By Eric Stephen

After nearly a week of starting slow, the Dodgers rode a series of firsts to beat the Diamondbacks 7-4 on Sunday afternoon at Chase Field, avoiding a series sweep. Dodgers opponents scored first in each of the first five games of the year, but it was the Dodgers who struck first on Sunday, with a Joc Pederson leadoff double in the third inning, followed two batters later with a sacrifice fly by Jimmy Rollins for a 1-0 lead. The scoring continued in the fourth inning with three straight singles, the third by Alex Guerrero — making his first career major league start, at third base — for his first major league RBI. The fifth inning saw Yasiel Puig, one day after getting Saturday night off following a 2-for-17 start, hit a rocket line drive into the left field seats for his first home run of the season, and a 3-0 lead. Pederson followed in the sixth inning with a home run to deep center field for a 4-0 lead. Not only was it Pederson's first major league home run, but it was also his first major league RBI. Adrian Gonzalez, who two innings earlier just missed his sixth home run but settled for a double, singled to open the seventh inning and ultimately scored on a double by Guerrero, the first career extra-base hit for Guerrero, one of three Cuban-born players to start for the Dodgers, the first time in franchise history they have done that. The seventh inning also featured an intentional walk to Pederson, a first in his career. He finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, falling a triple short of the cycle. That picket fence offense was more than enough for Zack Greinke, who pitched seven scoreless innings for the longest outing by a Dodgers starter this season. Greinke allowed only three hits, though two others reached base in a rare two-error game by Rollins. Greinke walked none and struck out seven, including four called strikeouts. Greinke, who has allowed just one run in 13 innings so far this season, picked up his first win of the season. Guerrero, for good measure, hit a no-doubter into the left field seats in the ninth inning for his first major league home run. Guerrero went 3-for-5 with four RBI. He, like Pederson, also fell a triple shy of the cycle. Yasmani Grandal, who went 2-for-5 with two runs scored at the plate, also threw out Jake Lamb trying to steal second base in the fourth inning, the first caught stealing for Grandal this season in four attempts. The Dodgers took a 7-0 lead into the ninth, when Scott Van Slyke falling down at first base on a ground ball was followed by Chris Hatcher failing to retire four of his five hitters, turning a blowout into a 7-4 game. But Joel Peralta recorded the final out to preserve the win, and earn his second save. Up next

The Dodgers return home for a six-game homestand, starting with a three-game series against the Mariners. In the series opener on Monday night at Dodger Stadium, Brandon McCarthy gets the call for Los Angeles, while James Paxton starts for Seattle, likely the only left-handed starting pitcher the Dodgers will face in the first two weeks of the season. Sunday particulars Home runs: Yasiel Puig (1), Joc Pederson (1), Alex Guerrero (1) WP - Zack Greinke (1-0): 7 IP, 5 hits, 7 strikeouts LP - Josh Collmenter (0-2): 5 IP, 9 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout Sv - Joel Peralta (2): ⅓ IP Corey Seager enjoys fine first week with Double-A Tulsa By Eric Stephen Dodgers minor league shortstop Corey Seager is one of the top prospects in baseball, so we're going to try something new this season. We are going to provide weekly* updates on his progress throughout the season, which began on Thursday with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. Seager ended his 2014 season by hitting .345/.381/.534 with 16 doubles, three triples and two home runs in 38 games with Double-A Chattanooga. After spending the bulk of his spring training as a non-roster invitee in big league camp with the Dodgers, he played with the Triple-A squad on the minor league side in games at Camelback Ranch. But he was still slated to begin 2015 in Double-A, albeit with a new team in Tulsa and a new league in the Texas League. "We believed wholeheartedly that additional reps in Double-A would be beneficial to his growth as a player and as a human being," Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler said on Thursday. "The decision was made with his best interests squarely in mind." Seager had multiple hits in three of his four games: Thursday vs. San Antonio: 2-for-4, double, 2 runs, 3 RBI, sacrifice fly Friday vs. San Antonio: 0-for-4, strikeout Saturday vs. San Antonio: 3-for-4, run, RBI Sunday vs. Corpus Christi: 2-for-4 Dating back to 2014, Seager has 13 multi-hit games in his last 20 games, hitting .363 (29-for-80) during that span. He has 21 multi-hit games in his 42 games at Double-A. So far in 2014, Seager is hitting .438/.412/.500 in four games. He has also been a part of five double plays at shortstop.

G

AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA/OBP/SLG OPS

Apr 9-12 4 16 3 7 1 0 0 4 0 1 .438/.412/.500 .912

Double-A to date 42 164 31 58 17 3 2 31 10 40 .354/.384/.530 .915

DODGER INSIDER Turner, Uribe injuries not serious By Jon Weisman There were encouraging reports on Justin Turner and Juan Uribe a day after each were injured, minutes apart, in Saturday’s 6-0 Dodger loss, but Alex Guerrero will make his first Major League start. Uribe is available off the bench today if needed (though unlikely to be used), while Turner is expected back for the upcoming series against the Mariners. With Guerrero, Yasiel Puig and Yasmani Grandal in the lineup, it is believed to be the first time the Dodgers will have started three Cuban-born players. Saturday marked the 28th time the Dodgers have been two-hit since 2000.

CBS LOS ANGELES

Dodger Bats Come Alive In 7-4 Series Finale Over Arizona By Associated Press PHOENIX (CBSLA.com/AP) — Alex Guerrero had his first big league homer and four RBIs, Zack Greinke pitched seven strong innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers avoided a three-game sweep with a 7-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. It was also Guerrero’s first start of his career. Yasiel Puig hit his first homer of 2015 off Josh Collmenter (0-2) and Guerrero finished 3 for 5 with a two-run homer off Oliver Perez in the eighth inning. Joc Pederson had his first big league homer and three of Los Angeles’ 16 hits after the Dodgers managed two in a shutout loss the night before. Greinke (1-0) was sharp in his second straight start to open the season, allowing five hits and striking out seven.

Arizona scored four runs in the ninth inning off Chris Hatcher, on a three-run double by A.J. Pollock and Jordan Pacheco’s RBI single. Joel Peralta got Ender Inciarte to fly out for the final out and his second save. Greinke pitched well in his opening start on Tuesday, allowing a run and two hits against San Diego. He ended up with a no-decision after the Dodgers’ bullpen allowed six runs over the final three innings for a 7-3 loss. Greinke was good again, allowing one runner to reach second base while keeping the Diamondbacks off-balance. Puig broke out of his early season slump with one big swing. The Cuban slugger sat on the bench for Saturday’s game against Arizona after opening the season 2 for 17. Puig hit a foul ball into the second deck in his third at-bat against Collmenter and straightened it out two pitches later, lining a leadoff homer to left in the fifth inning to put Los Angeles up 3-0. Collmenter struggled after getting the ball on opening day for the first time, allowing five runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings against San Francisco. He continued to scuffle against the Dodgers, though worked through traffic to limit them to three runs and nine hits in five innings. Jimmy Rollins had a sacrifice fly in the third inning and Guerrero got his first big league RBI with a run-scoring single in the fourth. Guerrero, in the starting lineup after injuries to Justin Turner and Juan Uribe, added a run-scoring double in the seventh inning and closed out his memorable day with a no-doubt homer to left. UP NEXT Dodgers: RHP Brandon McCarthy will make his second start for the Dodgers against Seattle on Monday. He allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings against San Diego in his debut on Wednesday. Diamondbacks: RHP Rubby De La Rosa won in his Arizona debut on Tuesday against the Giants, but got plenty of help from Arizona’s offense after allowing six earned runs in 5 1-3 innings. He will start the opener of a three-game series against the Padres on Monday. TRAINING ROOM Dodgers: Manager Don Mattingly did not expect Uribe (hamstring) and Turner (cut finger) to be out more than a few days. Diamondbacks: Arizona placed catcher Gerald Laird on the 15-day disabled list with lower-back spasms, retroactive to April 9. He was scheduled to start Saturday against the Dodgers, but starter Tuffy Gosewich had to play after Laird’s back flared up.

ISPORTS WEB

Los Angeles Dodgers escape the desert By Alex Campos After a promising opening series victory against the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers lost their first road series of the season, losing two of three games in Arizona over the weekend. The Dodgers dropped the first two games of the series, losing 4-3 on Friday night and 6-0 on Saturday night before taking the finale, 7-4. Series MVP A couple players saved the Dodgers from getting swept on Sunday. Zack Greinke was dominant, allowing five hits and striking out seven Diamondbacks in seven shutout innings. I feel so bad for Greinke. He’s incredibly overshadowed as the number two starter behind the best pitcher on the planet. He would be an ace on basically any team that doesn’t have Clayton Kershaw or Felix Hernandez. At the plate, a pair of rookies fell a triple short of the cycle. Both Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero collected three hits, including their first career home runs on Sunday. Guerrero got the start after both Juan Uribe and Justin Turner were injured playing third base on Saturday, but neither of their injuries appear to be serious. Guerrero has always been intriguing to me. His bat has never been a question, but there were huge red flags about his ability to field. He didn’t exactly look smooth and wasn’t tested with hard plays at third, but he made every play he had to in his first career start on Sunday. If he can field the position half-decently, he might get more opportunities to play over Uribe. Series goat No, this doesn’t stand for “Greatest of All Time” here. Surprisingly, a few Dodgers had a rough time down in Arizona. Kershaw got shifted to death on Saturday, giving up six runs (five earned) and ten hits in six innings. Of all the ballparks in baseball, Kershaw has his fifth highest career ERA at Chase Field (3.90) in 11 career starts. Pair this with a less-than-spectacular Opening Day start, and Kershaw has a 5.84 ERA in 2015. His FIP is only 3.14, so he’s had a lot of rough luck this year. In both of his starts, he’s had bad luck with the infield shifts the Dodgers are using against right-handed hitters. Second baseman Howie Kendrick has been behind second base against righties, and hitters are just finding the hole on the right side of the infield. It’s way too early to worry about Kershaw, but he had another bad outing in Arizona this weekend. My “safe bets” in the bullpen also had rough weekends in Arizona. J.P. Howell walked two batters and gave up a walk-off single on Friday, and Chris Hatcher gave up three earned runs and one inherited run in the ninth inning on Sunday. My bigger gripe about Sunday rests with manager Don Mattingly.

Up 7-0 heading into the ninth, Mattingly brought in Paco Rodriguez, and double switched Adrian Gonzalez out of the game. Paco struck out David Peralta and got Jake Lamb to ground to first, where Scott Van Slyke (not Gonzo) slipped and fell while fielding the ball. Rather than leaving Paco in, Mattingly brought in Hatcher (again, in a seven run game), who gave up two doubles, a single and a walk before being pulled for Joel Peralta. Peralta got Ender Inciarte to line out with Paul Goldschmidt on deck, but that inning was a lot more stressful than it needed to be thanks to Donnie. Important takeaways Brett Anderson survived his first start as a Dodger and pitched really well, giving up three runs and five hits in six innings. He allowed more fly-balls than usual, including a bomb to Goldschmidt, but still looked sharp and is still healthy. If he can stay healthy, he will be a great number five starter for the Dodgers. I was very interested to see how Anderson would look in his first start, and he did not disappoint. Other than Howell and Hatcher, the bullpen looks pretty good early on. Yimi Garcia pitched two very strong innings on Friday, allowing a hit and striking out four. Peralta, Pedro Baez and Juan Nicasio also kept the D-Backs scoreless over the weekend. Key stats Gonzalez went 4-12 over the weekend, sending his batting average plummeting to .609 on the season. Goldschmidt has had 256 plate appearances in his career against the Dodgers. His slashline is a measly .328/.390/.585 and he has 15 home runs and 50 career RBIs. I wonder what it would take to get him traded to an AL team. Next series The Dodgers return home on Monday for an Interleague series against the Seattle Mariners. Luckily, King Felix pitched today so the Dodgers won’t have to see him. Game one will feature Brandon McCarthy against James Paxton, who got a tough loss against the Angels in his first start. The Dodgers pitcher for Tuesday’s game is still TBD and will likely be either David Huff or Scott Baker. Whoever takes the hill will be facing Hisashi Iwakuma, who also took a loss against the Angels. The finale on Wednesday will be Anderson’s home debut for the Dodgers against Taijuan Walker, who got lit up by Oakland in his first start of the season. Los Angeles Dodgers: Impact of injuries to Uribe and Turner By Nathaly Trujillo Within the course of minutes, two players were taken off the field for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second game of the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Both third basemen, Juan Uribe and Justin Turner left during Saturday’s game.

Turner was spiked on the left index finger, causing him to leave the game. Arizona’s center fielder, A.J. Pollock, slid and hit Turner, while attempting to steal a base in the mist of third inning. Due to the pain from the impact, Turner released the ball causing an error for the Dodgers. After having x-rays and examinations done on his finger, the results came out negative. Turner will be on a day-to-day basis until further notice. With Turner out, Uribe went in to cover third base, but only to shortly be taken out of the game after that inning due to tightness in his left hamstring. Uribe felt the tightness after throwing the ball in attempt to get Paul Goldschmidt out at first. This injury is not something new for Uribe. Last year, he was on the disabled list for a strained right hamstring two times. Third string third baseman, Alex Guerrero, was able to make his first MLB debut by replacing Uribe at third. The Dodgers have been faced with a handful of injuries early in the season. Their pitching has already been stretched and tested to its maximum within a short amount of time. Originally, only Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brandon League, and Kenley Jansen were part of the main concern with the Dodgers, but now they might have to focus on their infield just as much. Alex Guererro served as a substitute helping to replace Justin Turner and Juan Uribe. Potential players the Dodgers might look into as a back up resource are Hector Olivera, Corey Seager, and Alex Guerrero. Currently, Olivera is unable to play for the Dodgers until his paperwork is straightened out for permission to travel to the United States. As for Seager, he is the Dodgers’ top infield prospect that could be drafted in to play instead of beginning the season at Double-A Tulsa. Guerrero was able to distinguish himself during the last game of the series. He was able to perform well in the infield and at bat under the circumstances from the game. This was Guerrero’s first MLB start at third base. When push comes to shove, the Dodgers will be forced to place certain players, who might lack the experience, in the field if the injuries continue throughout the season. For the most part, the new last minute replacements were able to pull through and aid the Dodgers in their own form.

THE BELLINGHAM HERALD Seattle Mariners (3-3) at Los Angeles Dodgers (3-3), 10:10 p.m. (ET) By Sports Network

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers aim to post their first winning streak of the young season on Monday evening as they welcome the Seattle Mariners for the first of three straight meetings. The Dodgers have split their first six games of the campaign and avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks with Sunday's 7-4 win the featured 16 hits by the Los Angeles offense. Alex Guerrero had three hits and drove in four runs, falling a triple shy of the cycle. Both he and Joc Pederson hit their first career home runs, with Pederson also notching three hits. Yasiel Puig homered, Jimmy Rollins drove in a run and Zack Greinke logged seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. "He was what we needed today," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He kept his pitch count down and was able to go deep for us." Mattingly will now hope that Brandon McCarthy can log some innings, something the right-hander failed to do in his Dodgers debut on Wednesday. McCarthy earned a 7-4 win over the San Diego Padres, but allowed four runs on nine hits, two homers and a walk. He also struck out nine over five-plus innings. The 31-year-old did continue to show his impressive control, logging a 28th straight start with two walks over fewer. That run dates back to April 22, 2014. McCarthy is 2-6 versus the Mariners with a 3.88 earned run average in 13 games (11 starts). Seattle eyes a third straight win after posting consecutive extra-inning triumphs over the Oakland Athletics. Nelson Cruz played the hero in Sunday's 8-7 victory, smacking a solo homer in the 10th inning. Cruz salvaged the game after Fernando Rodney allowed four runs in the ninth inning to tie the game. Rickie Weeks hit a three-run homer, and Kyle Seager and Brad Miller both had an RBI for the Mariners, who saw starter Felix Hernandez exit for precautionary reasons following the fifth inning due to quad tightness. James Paxton gets the call for his opener for the Mariners after suffering a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels last Tuesday. He yielded both runs on a homer in the fourth inning, striking out five over six innings. The 26-year-old southpaw is an impressive 9-5 with a 2.68 ERA over his first 18 career starts and will face the Dodgers for the first time. He is 1-1 in two prior interleague starts, giving up just one run over 10 innings.

The Dodgers took two of three in Seattle when the clubs last met in 2012, but the Mariners have won five of their past seven in L.A.

SPORTS JOURNAL Los Angeles Dodgers’ Joc Pederson Continues His Journey By Jim Hill For Joc Pederson, MLB.com’s pre-season No. 13 prospect, the process of becoming a big-league starter was an arduous journey. Last year, with four starting-caliber outfielders – former All-Stars Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, and Yasiel Puig – blocking his entry into the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup, the ballplayer had to prove his worth in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. There, on the roster of the Albuquerque Isotopes, Pederson quickly showed himself to be among professional baseball’s most promising young sluggers. By season’s end, he had hit a league-leading 33 home runs, collected 30 stolen bases, notched 17 doubles, and posted a .303 batting average. Pederson was also one of two Pacific Coast League players, under 25 years of age, to record an OPS over 1.000 (1.017). His counterpart was none other than third baseman Kris Bryant (1.036), MLB.com’s pre-season No. 2 prospect – a player widely believed to be the Chicago Cubs’ greatest asset. To put it bluntly, as an Isotope, Pederson hit often and well. All the while, however, the ballplayer’s sights were set on a starting spot on a big-league roster. With trade speculation surrounding him throughout 2014, and with the Dodger outfield’s overcrowding, Pederson candidly spoke on the possibility of his being dealt. He openly mused about his status as a prospect, his potential transference to another team, and the Dodger front office’s plans for him. Meanwhile, officials affiliated with the organization preached patience. Among their number was Hall of Fame manager and special adviser Tommy Lasorda, who – over Italian dinners with the outfielder, over dishes of pasta – repeatedly assured Pederson that his time would come. Now, this season, it seems as though Lasorda’s prediction may be coming true. After Kemp was traded to the San Diego Padres in December, space was freed on the Dodgers’ roster for an outfielder – and a potential starter. The heir apparent appears to be Pederson, whose previous year’s performance had earned him the Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year Award. And manager Don Mattingly has supported this statement with his coaching choices, starting the 23-year-old ballplayer in each of the Dodgers’ first five games. But, while there are positive signs for the rookie, Pederson will also be facing plenty of challenges. His status as a starter is not guaranteed, as Mattingly has openly expressed his aversion to “anointing somebody,” and plenty of competition still exists for his position. As a result, the outfielder’s benching, demotion, or platooning are legitimate – if not likely – possibilities. Additionally, having started the year with three hits and eight strikeouts in 19 plate appearances, Pederson has done himself no favors. Stuck in an early slump, the outfielder will have to secure Mattingly’s confidence to keep starting. In short, he’ll simply have to continue his journey.

HOY DEPORTES Cortés: Dodgers y el problema de ser rico Por Alejandro Cortés Además de los deportes, uno de los temas que más me interesa es la economía. Y muchas veces, ambos van de la mano. Hace unas semanas leía un artículo que se titulaba “Las 10 cosas más importantes sobre finanzas personales que alguien sin conocimientos financieros debe saber”, y un punto en particular llamó mi atención. Recomendaba: para todo, compra a precios competitivos, no pagues precio de etiqueta. Si siempre pagas todo al precio que el vendedor pide, te están explotando. Muchos de ustedes pueden pensar que la gente con dinero es la que menos debe preocuparse por algo así, pero ellos son los que más sufren las consecuencias de ese problema. El béisbol es el único deporte entre las ligas profesionales de Estados Unidos que no tiene tope salarial, pero sí tiene un impuesto de lujo, que los equipos que más gastan deben pagar si se pasan de cierta cantidad de dinero, cifra que Grandes Ligas establece cada año. Los clubes en mercados grandes son los que suelen pagar ese impuesto, porque son los que tienen más ingresos y se pueden dar el lujo de pagar por los mejores jugadores, muchas veces más de lo que en verdad valen –de ahí el nombre de ese impuesto–. La semana pasada, Grandes Ligas reveló las nóminas de todos los equipos, y por segundo año seguido, los Dodgers son la franquicia que más gastó en jugadores, con un total de $270 millones de dólares. Antes que los Dodgers, los Yanquis de Nueva York –otro equipo de un mercado grande–, fueron por 15 años consecutivos el equipo que más gastó. El problema de la gente (o los equipos) con mucho dinero es que, a menudo, no saben qué hacer con él, y entonces comienzan a gastarlo pobremente. Dodgers y Yanquis tienen tantos recursos por sus multimillonarios contratos de televisión, que se les hace fácil pagar por superestrellas (que no siempre se ajustan a sus necesidades), con tal de mantener su estatus de ricos y poderosos. Pero el tiempo ha demostrado que el dinero no compra títulos, y cada año hay ejemplos de ello. Apenas la temporada pasada, los Reales de Kansas City –la 11ª nómina más baja entre las 30 de las Mayores, con $92 millones de dólares– fueron los campeones de la Liga Americana, mientras los Dodgers gastaron $235 millones y se quedaron en la primera ronda de los playoffs. Y las consecuencias del despilfarro angelino empiezan a reflejarse. Debido a la ‘limpia’ de jugadores que el nuevo presidente de operaciones del equipo, Andrew Friedman, hizo esta temporada, de los $270 millones de la actual nómina, $44 millones los están pagando a

jugadores que ya ni siquiera están en el equipo, entre ellos Matt Kemp, quien ahora juega para los Padres. Vaya, le están pagando al enemigo, pues San Diego es un rival directo de su división. En la NFL están los casos de los Cowboys y Redskins, los dos equipos que más dinero generan, pero que no ganan un título hace más de 20 años. En contraparte, los Packers y los Saints no cuentan con tantos recursos, pero los que tienen los gastan con inteligencia. En el béisbol, los que se caracterizan por hacer eso son los Rays y los Atléticos. Incluso esta temporada, equipos como Seattle, Kansas City, Pittsburgh y Cleveland, de mercados pequeños y con bajos presupuestos, son sólidos candidatos a ganar sus divisiones. Ser rico y poderoso, al menos en el deporte, pocas veces es lo más efectivo.