GLENDALE, Ariz. — The team of Clayton Kershaw and Corey Seager won the annual clubhouse ping pong championship this morning. The bracket-style tournament began with random pairings. The southpaw champions didn’t choose each other, nor did the left-handed Coulombe and the right-handed Turner.
Kershaw is known to take these things seriously. Seager is an unknown in the realm of ping-pong. Clearly, Team Turner-Coulombe had the support of the clubhouse. Teammates booed every point by Kershaw and Seager, and cheered every point by Turner and Coulombe. I believe the final score was 19-14, sealed by an unreturnable Kershaw forehand. It was a glorious moment for Kershaw, an awkward moment for Seager (the boos weren’t his fault) and a bonding moment for everyone. Darwin Barney even had a blown-up photo of Turner’s head, which he propped up to a stick and waved around in support of his red-haired teammate.
Here are the lineups for today’s 1 p.m. game at Camelback Ranch:
Dodgers:
Jimmy Rollins SS
Carl Crawford LF
Yasiel Puig RF
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Howie Kendrick 2B
Andre Ethier DH
Juan Uribe 3B
Joc Pederson CF
A.J. Ellis C
Brandon McCarthy P
Bullpen: Adam Liberatore, Dustin McGowan, Sergio Santos, Mike Adams
Bench: Scott Schebler, Buck Britton, Seager, Shawn Zarraga, Chris O’Brien, Darnell Sweeney, Alex Guerrero, Kyle Jensen, Kike Hernandez, Chris Heisey, Matt Carson, Barney
Cubs:
Chris Coghlan LF
Arismendy Alcantara 3B
Anthony Rizzo 1B
Jorge Soler RF
Matt Szczur CF
Tommy La Stella 2B
David Ross C
Addison Russell SS
Jake Arrieta RHP
Dodgers pitchers David Huff and Zack Greinke are throwing bullpens, while right-hander Ben Rowen is scheduled to throw his first live batting practice of the spring.
1 p.m. update: The Cubs have made a change to their lineup, removing Szczur and adding Albert Almora:
Chris Coghlan LF
Arismendy Alcantara 3B
Anthony Rizzo 1B
Jorge Soler RF
Tommy La Stella 2B
Cody Ross C
Addison Russell SS
Albert Almora CF
Jake Arrieta RHP