Thompson's bat starting to come alive

March 15th, 2017

PEORIA, Ariz. -- and launched their first homers of the spring and knocked in a pair of runs as the Dodgers topped the Mariners, 12-7, Wednesday in Cactus League play at Peoria Stadium.
The Mariners countered with long balls of their own from Ben Gamel and . Gamel homered in the first inning for his second straight start, while Martin hit his first of the spring as he heats up from a slow start at the plate.

Thompson, playing his third game for the Dodgers as he returns from broken vertebrae in his back, went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in the third. Turner continued his hot spring by going 2-for-3 with two runs and a solo homer in the first, hiking his average to .409.

Dodgers right-hander went 3 2/3 innings in his longest start of the spring, allowing five hits and three runs.
"The four-inning outing is really the first real hump," said McCarthy. "I thought overall was good. The fourth inning, didn't really feel fatigue, but the pitches weren't as crisp. Progress-wise it was good, results were OK."
Mariners starter Chris Heston surrendered his first three runs of the spring on three hits -- including Turner and Thompson's blasts -- before being pulled after 2 1/3 innings. Heston, likely headed to Triple-A Tacoma, walked three in a 61-pitch outing after having no walks in seven innings over his first three outings.
The Dodgers broke things open with five runs in the sixth inning off as they rolled to their sixth win in their past seven Cactus League games. Left fielder had a triple in a 3-for-4 day with three runs scored.
Left fielder was 3-for-3 with two stolen bases and a run scored for Seattle, while second baseman added a pair of doubles and two RBIs.
"Dyson had a really good day and it was nice to see Leonys pull a ball and hit it out of the park," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "Gamel swung the bat pretty good and [Daniel] Vogelbach swung good with nothing to show for it. There were some positives, but on the pitching side, not a whole lot."

Dodgers Up Next: remains a longshot to be in the Dodgers rotation when the season starts, but he gets the ball on Thursday against the Cubs at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. The Dodgers are still waiting for the return to the starting lineup of , who is dealing with hip stiffness.
Mariners Up Next: Right-hander Chase De Jong, acquired from the Dodgers in a March 1 trade, makes his second Cactus League start Thursday against the Royals in Surprise. Free-agent acquisition is among the scheduled relievers in the 1:05 p.m. PT game, which will be available on GameDay Audio.
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