by Rowan Kavner
Cody Bellinger was confident he’d be back in games sometime during Spring Training after getting arthroscopic labrum surgery on his right shoulder this offseason. He made that a reality Tuesday afternoon.
Bellinger made his Cactus League debut Tuesday against the Brewers, getting three at-bats and playing six innings in center field in his first game action since the World Series.
“It felt good,” Bellinger said. “Felt really good. Shoulder felt great, and it just felt good getting into a game with the guys again in front of some fans.”
Manager Dave Roberts said Bellinger is in good shape and his shoulder is recovered and feeling strong. The biggest challenge is getting accustomed to live pitching again. Bellinger went hitless in his debut.
“I thought he took some good swings,” Roberts said. “Just to see some live pitching in a real Major League game I thought was good, get his legs under him, play six innings. I thought it was a positive day.”
Bellinger said he was ahead of schedule in his recovery when spring began. He was already swinging a bat by early February, less than three months after his surgery. Over the last few weeks, Bellinger has progressed from taking batting practice in the cage to tracking live pitching to finally hitting live pitching.
He vowed to be 100 percent ready by Opening Day. That looks to remain on track. The only difference this year appears to be a new, more opened stance at the plate. Bellinger said he had a lot of downtime with the surgery to think, and he feels confident with the change.
“I’ve done it in the past, had success with it,” Bellinger said. “To be honest, ultimately, I just feel really good with it.”
Bellinger said he felt better with his timing as the game went on in his spring debut, and he doesn’t anticipate it taking long to get that down. Regarding the change in stance, Bellinger said it was more about how he felt and not an adjustment to how pitchers attacked him last year.
Roberts said Bellinger will be back in the lineup again Thursday. He wasn’t sure on Bellinger’s rationale for the stance adjustment, but he noted that Bellinger is “a very feel-driven guy.” He said there’s still plenty of time for Bellinger to figure out where he wants to be at the plate before the season begins.
For now, he’s glad to be writing Bellinger’s name back in the lineup.
“I think Cody’s the happiest guy in camp that he was playing in a big-league game,” Roberts said.
An Opening Day honor
Clayton Kershaw has started on Opening Day eight times before in his career. As he gets set to make his ninth career Opening Day start, extending his franchise record in the category, it’s still meaningful to him.
“Every time you get to do that, it’s a special thing,” Kershaw said after his start Tuesday. “To get to do it with the Dodgers for nine seasons is a huge honor that I don’t take for granted.”
Kershaw likely would have made his ninth Opening Day start for the Dodgers in 2019 and then again in 2020 after starting on Opening Day every year from 2011–18, but he was injured on both occasions. He quickly recovered from back tightness last season and was healthy the rest of the year, going 6–2 with a 2.16 ERA and 0.84 WHIP.
He’s remained healthy early this camp, setting up for him to take the mound April 1 in Colorado. Kershaw already holds the Dodger record with eight career Opening Day starts, one ahead of Don Sutton and Don Drysdale.
“It is just one game of 162, but it’s a special thing I think — just with the guys that have done it in the past with the Dodgers,” Kershaw said. “There’s just the history behind it and what it means, starting the baseball season, getting to be a part of that. Obviously very excited for April 1 — just hopefully it’s not in a blizzard.”
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