Although it was fun watching the Dodgers decimate the Texas Rangers in front of a sellout crowd of 13,077 at Camelback Ranch on Friday night – unless you are a Rangers fan, that is – the reality is that even though the Dodgers had the eventual 12-2 win in the bag after only four batters, the deck was seriously stacked against the boys from Arlington.

How so, you ask?

Because the Rangers are currently fielding a spring training team that is without 10 of their best players, who are currently competing in the World Baseball Classic; this compared to the four major leaguers and three minor leaguers that are representing their countries from the Dodgers camp … and one of those pitched for the Dodgers on Friday night.

Add to this the fact that Rangers starter (and projected staff ace) Cole Hamels had to be removed from Friday’s game after facing those first four Dodger batters because of his complete ineffectiveness, thankfully not due to an injury, as was initially thought.

But the real story of Friday night’s game – aside from Yasiel Puig‘s two monster home runs – is that of oft-injured Dodgers right-hander Brandon McCarthy was, in a word, brilliant in his second outing of the spring.

The 33-year-old Glendale, California native and 11-year MLB veteran allowed no runs and only one hit while striking out three and walking none in his three innings of work. And when the 6′-7″ / 235-pound right-hander wasn’t striking out his Rangers opponents, he forced five of the other seven batters he faced to ground out. The other reached on a fielding error but was quickly erased on a 4-6-3 double play.

McCarthy was absolutely brilliant in his second start of the spring.
(Photo credit – Kevin Sullivan)

But wait, there’s more!

Of the 16 pitches that McCarthy made in his three innings of work, all of them were strikes.

Welcome back, Mac!

But with one Dodgers long-term reclamation project apparently fixed, another one takes the hill for the Dodgers later this afternoon; soon-to-be 30-year-old South Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu, who has made exactly one major league start since September 12, 2014, and that one (on July 7 of last season) was a complete disaster.

In that one outing, Ryu allowed six runs on eight hits (including a home run) in 4.2 innings pitched. He did, however, strike out four of the 24 batters he faced, while walking two. It was very apparent that the 6′-3″ / 250-pound extremely popular lefty was far from healed after his May 21, 2015 surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Although Ryu tried to rehab his way back to the Bigs after that July 7, 2016 disaster, he was eventually shut down completely and underwent arthroscopic left elbow debridement surgery on September 28, 2016, from which he now claims he is fully recovered.

There is simply no getting around it, Hyun-Jin Ryu absolutely must have a good outing today against the Angels … and for the remainder of the spring. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Although today’s outing will be his first major league start of the spring, Ryu has pitched several simulated games. And while his normally devastating curveball was… well… devastating during those sim games, his (once) 93+ MPH fastball was flat and very hittable. In fact, 21-year-old Dodgers outfield prospect DJ Peters from nearby Glendora, California hit the big lefty rather hard during a February 19 simulated game.

There is no disputing that Ryu’s curveball continues to be absolutely filthy, but he still needs to find the success that he once had with fastball, as Dodgers outfield prospect DJ Peters proved during a simulated game on February 19.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But in spite of his early spring training struggles, which are to be expected, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is confident that Ryu is on the road to recovery.

“We expect him to make starts,” Roberts told reports shortly after pitchers and catchers reported for spring training. “He’s excited to be healthy and to be an active participant now. It’s been a tough couple years for him. Sometimes, you don’t feel like you’re a part of things. But right now, you see the smile and the excitement.”

Additionally, with each successive sim game and live BP sessions, Roberts noticed significant improvement in his big left-hander.

“He came into camp healthy, in great shape,” Roberts said. “The last live BP session he threw was really, really good. Just the command of the fastball and the life in the zone. And the repeatable delivery. So hopefully he continues to build off that.”

But all of the hope in the world won’t help Ryu when he goes head-to-head against one of the most potent line-ups in the game later today, even though Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Kole Calhoun aren’t scheduled to play. But regardless, it will take every bit of that “…command of the fastball and the life in the zone…” and his ‘normally devastating curveball’ for Ryu to come even remotely close to matching what Brandon McCarthy accomplished on Friday night.

Play Ball!