LOS ANGELES — A certified Dodger Hall of Famer crossed paths with baseball’s next potential superstar on Thursday night, and the newbie showed there’s still some life left in his team.
On Don Sutton bobblehead night at Dodger Stadiuhm, the former right hander Sutton threw out the first pitch. But it was Yasiel Puig who had the last word, smashing an eighth-inning grand slam to seal the Dodgers' 5-0 win over the Braves.
For the Cuban defector playing in just his fourth major league game, he hit home run No. 3 as he raised his RBI total to nine. He finished the game with a .438 average after going 2 for 4.
This isn't the first time Los Angeles has witnessed a young prospect with a ton of upside be a catalyst for his team in such a short period. In fact, it happened about a year ago down the 5 freeway in Anaheim.
Puig’s story is beginning to look a bit like last year’s emergence of the Angels’ Mike Trout.
With the team struggling and injuries compromising the roster, the Halos called up Trout in late April and they took off to have an excellent last five months of the season.
Trout was the American League Rookie of the Year and finished second to Detroit’s Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera for the MVP award.
A common denominator in the story is Zack Greinke, who went to the Angels in a midseason trade with Milwaukee last season, then signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in the offseason.
After he arrived from the Brewers, Greinke saw Trout continue to have his explosive season last year, and now he’s seeing Puig’s potential stardom right from the start.
“I didn’t get to see Trout when he first came up,” Greinke said, “but it was pretty special last season. It’s early (for Puig) so we’ll see what happens.”
Manager Don Mattingly hopes to see more of the same.
“The more you see of him, the more you believe it,” Mattingly said. “He plays with energy, with a joy to his game — the way you’re supposed to play.”
Can he keep doing it? And can he be the catalyst Trout was for the Angels last season?
If he can, it figures to be a fun summer around Los Angeles.
Or will it soon be know as YasielWood?
