GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Dodgers will open their Cactus League slate on Saturday against the Brewers, but the club got into some early game action on Thursday with a two-inning camp game at Camelback Ranch.
Noah Syndergaard and Julio Urías each took the mound, both looking sharp in their first outing against live hitters this spring. Urías made quick work of the first three batters he faced, including Gavin Lux and J.D. Martinez. After only needing a few pitches, Urías faced a fourth batter in the simulated inning, retiring Austin Barnes on the first pitch he saw.
Urías will be representing Team Mexico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, so there’s an emphasis on getting him ramped up a little bit sooner. The left-hander looks poised to build on what was his best season in the Majors in 2022.
Syndergaard, on the other hand, is still trying to prove he can be a top-of-the-rotation-type pitcher this spring. His velocity has shown “an uptick,” according to manager Dave Roberts, and the right-hander believes his command will benefit from cleaning up his mechanics this winter.
Syndergaard faced Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith in the first of two innings he pitched on Thursday.
“I feel like today was really awesome,” Syndergaard said. “A lot of what I’ve been working on has started to click, so it was a lot of fun being out there and playing baseball.”
Syndergaard, who is expected to join Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Urías in the rotation, took less money to sign with the Dodgers this offseason. His main focus was getting back to being the pitcher that was on the verge of stardom with the Mets.
But since then, Syndergaard has battled injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2020 season and most of '21. As he worked his way back from that, Syndergaard struggled to regain his velocity last season with the Angels and Phillies, averaging 94.1 mph on the heater.
In a handful of bullpen sessions and during Thursday’s camp game, Syndergaard has been clocked around the same velocity. That, of course, is expected to tick upwards once the adrenaline of playing in regular-season games kicks in.
“Everything he does has a purpose,” Roberts said last week. “He’s a big -- like, I guess most players are -- a very 'feel' guy. It’s got to feel right. So I think that early on, he’s trying to kind of establish or reestablish some of his feels.”
Defense shined
How Miguel Vargas adapts to second base will be key this spring. On Thursday, the 23-year-old offered a glimpse of why the Dodgers are optimistic that he can be an above-average defender at the position.
Vargas, who was shaded over closer to the second-base bag, took a handful of steps to his left and made a sliding play on a Miguel Rojas grounder that was headed to right field. Vargas then got up and threw a perfect strike to first, retiring Rojas. Betts and the rest of the team mauled Vargas in celebration.
Positive reaction to rule changes
One of the purposes of the camp game was to get the team used to some of the changes that will be implemented this season. Talking through the changes has been a priority at camp this spring, and it’ll be something that continues over the next four weeks.
As part of the rule changes, there won’t be any drastic shifts on the infield. Teams won’t be allowed to have more than two defenders on each side of second base and defenders must be on the infield dirt. After one at-bat Thursday, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy became an instant fan.
“Yeah!” Muncy shouted as he lined a single to the right side of the infield off Syndergaard. “No shift!”
The Dodgers were also tracking pitchers and simulating the new pitch clock, which is a 15-second timer with nobody on base and a 20-second timer with runners on. Barnes, who caught Syndergaard, said he didn’t even notice the Dodgers were doing that, another positive sign that it’ll be a short adjustment period.