Hyun-Jin Ryu allowed home runs to Dee Gordon and Hanley Ramirez in the first inning of the Dodgers’ intrasquad game on Sunday. (Associated Press photo)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dee Gordon and Hanley Ramirez hit home runs against Hyun-Jin Ryu in the first inning of the Dodgers’ 4-inning intrasquad game Sunday at Camelback Ranch. Those accounted for all the runs in a 3-1 victory for Team Wills (drafted by Matt Kemp) over Team Koufax (drafted by Zack Greinke.)
Gordon turned quickly on the second pitch he saw from Ryu and skied it over the right-field fence. “I got lucky,” Gordon said afterward.
Juan Uribe was up next and smoked a line-drive double to the gap in right-center; Yasiel Puig dove but missed the ball. Ramirez then hit his home run, a two-run shot to left-center that gave Team Wills a 3-0 lead before making an out.
Ryu got out of the inning and pitched a scoreless second. He allowed five hits in two innings, getting three outs in the air, two on the ground, and one when Andre Ethier was caught stealing in the first inning.
Matt Magill started for Team Wills and allowed one run in two innings. Yasiel Puig turned a routine single to left field into a double when Mike Baxter was slow getting to the ball and threw wide of second base. Scott Van Slyke singled home Puig for Team Koufax’s only run. Magill allowed three hits in two innings.
Kenley Jansen, Brian Wilson, J.P. Howell and Chris Perez each threw one scoreless relief inning.
A couple more notes from the game:
• Puig grounded into a 5-4-3 double play in the fourth inning. Uribe playfully grunted in Puig’s direction after the play.
• As Ryu left the field, Uribe apologized to the pitcher (in English) for hitting a double off him in the first inning. Ryu smiled and shook his head.
• Alex Guerrero made what might have been the best defensive play of the game, charging a ground ball to second base and throwing on the run, across his body, to retire Nick Buss. Guerrero said afterward that he’s made significant progress at second base since the start of the Dominican Winter League season.
• Van Slyke got thrown out twice trying to take an extra base: In the first inning, when Puig scored on Van Slyke’s single, and in the fourth inning, when his pop-up to left field landed in between Ramirez, Uribe and Baxter. Baxter retrieved the ball from the Bermuda Triangle and threw out Van Slyke by a step at second base.
• Catcher A.J. Ellis caught Ethier stealing by a wide margin.
• Gordon and Guerrero helped their case to be the Dodgers’ Opening Day second baseman — as much as they could in an intrasquad scrimmage at least. Even though Guerrero grounded into a force play in his only plate appearance in the second inning, he showed plus speed running out the ball to first base.
• Three other aspiring second-base candidates appeared in the game: Brendan Harris struck out against Wilson in the third inning. Miguel Rojas played shortstop and went 0 for 1 with a weak popout. He made a bare-handed, running pickup of Chone Figgins‘ ground ball to shortstop in the second inning but threw wide of first base. That was the only hit of the game for Figgins, who served as the designated hitter and showed good speed in beating out the base hit.
