LA Dodgers beat Kiwoom Heroes 14-3 in Seoul exhibition game opener

Baseball

Published: 17 Mar. 2024, 15:10 Updated: 17 Mar. 2024, 18:11

LA Dodgers beat Kiwoom Heroes 14-3 in Seoul exhibition game opener

Los Angeles Dodgers' starting pitcher Michael Grove pitches during the first inning of an exhibition game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Kiwoom Heroes 14-3 on Sunday, taking the lead in the first inning at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul and never looking back.

First baseman Freddie Freeman got the Dodgers off to a fast start in the first, firing a solo homer off the right-field scoreboard for an early 1-0 lead. Outfielder Jason Heyward extended that lead to 2-0 with an RBI double in the second, with Gavin Lux adding another RBI with a sacrifice groundball.

James Outman pushed it to 4-0 at the top of the third with an RBI single, before the Heroes managed to get on the board at the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single from Choi Joo-hwan.

Kiwoom Heroes' Choi Joo-hwan celebrates after getting a timely hit in the bottom of the fourth inning during the exhibition game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Los Angeles responded with a vengeance in the fifth, Heyward bringing in a run on a sac fly to push it to 5-1. Lux made it 6-1 with an RBI single, with Chris Taylor adding another to push it to 7-1. Hunter Feduccia, who replaced Shohei Ohtani as DH in the fourth inning, added another RBI single to make it 8-1 before the Heroes were finally able to get out of the inning.

It was a quiet sixth, but the Dodgers piled on in the seventh. Miguel Rojas and Austin Barnes picked up an RBI each, before Heyward brought home two with an RBI double and then came around himself on a Taylor single to take the score to 13-1.

The Heroes fought back at the bottom of the inning, Song Sung-mun hammering a two-RBI double into the outfield to save a bit of face for the home club, but the damage was already well and truly done.

It was a quiet eighth before the Dodgers added one more to cap things off at the top of the ninth on a Feduccia RBI single, the Heroes coming up scoreless at the bottom of the inning to round out the game.

Dodgers starter Michael Grove took the W, giving up no hits while striking out four in two innings of work. Heroes starter Ariel Jurado was hit with the loss, giving up four runs on five hits while striking out three and walking four in four innings pitched.

The Dodgers’ newest star Ohtani started at designated hitter for the California side, striking out swinging in the two-hole spot in the first and second innings before being replaced in the third.

Los Angeles Dodgers' designated hitter Shohei Ohtani prepares to bat during the first inning of the exhibition game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

The brief outing, announced by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts before the game, gave Korean fans a quick glimpse of perhaps the most famous face in baseball as he prepares for his first official game with the Dodgers after joining the club on the biggest deal in professional sports history over the offseason.

Sunday’s game was the first of four the Dodgers will play in Seoul over the next week. The Los Angeles club will be back at Gocheok on Monday evening to take on the Korean national team, before returning to the stadium on Wednesday and Thursday to face the San Diego Padres in the 2024 MLB Seoul Series, the official opener to the major league season.

The Padres, meanwhile, were set to face the Korean national team later on Sunday as of press time, and are scheduled to take on the reigning KBO champions LG Twins at midday on Monday.

The Seoul Series between the Heroes and the Padres on Wednesday and Thursday will mark the first MLB regular season games ever to be played in Korea.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]