baseball

That Stinks! Freeway Series Finale Called After Sewage Line Breaks at Dodger Stadium

The finale of the Freeway Series, marking the end of spring training, was called in the bottom of the fifth inning on Tuesday after a sewage line broke at Dodger Stadium, flooding the third baseline.

Someone call a plumber.

The finale of the exhibition Freeway Series was called in the bottom of the fifth inning on Tuesday after a sewage line broke at Dodger Stadium, flooding the third baseline.

With the Los Angeles Dodgers leading the Angels, 4-3, in the bottom of the fifth inning, a pool of water began to form right outside the Dodgers dugout in foul territory off the third base line.

"Apparently in the middle of the fifth inning, there was a pipe backup on two different levels of the stadium," said Dodgers owner and President Stan Kasten. "We don't exactly know what caused it, but the city is on the scene and they are trying to figure that out."

The flooding, which smelled of sewage, quickly blanketed the first two rows of the Dodgers exclusive baseline seats, as fans quickly headed for higher ground.

Umpires put the game in a delay, and after 30 minutes and after a meeting of the managers, the game was ultimately called with the Dodgers winning the final preseason game, 4-3.

"We could have stayed there and tried to locate it and address it, work on the field, but we had no idea how long that would take," Kasten said. "After a consultation, we decided the best thing was to end the game."

Dodgers' outfielder Andrew Toles, who was on second base when the flood occurred, said he initially thought it was Gatorade but later found out what it really was. 

"I'm not going to tell you what it really was, that's kinda messed up," Toles said. "It smelled. It was nasty. It's a tragic thing. I've never seen nothing like that and probably won't see nothing like that ever again."

Veteran Logan Forsythe was in the clubhouse when he got wind of the flood, and said he started to smell it in the halls and outside the coaches' office. 

"I've never seen a sewage pipe break and the game get called because of it," Forsythe said. "It's wild. Hopefully, they can find the issue and solve it. They have a day to do it. I heard the coaches room had a little bit of flooding. Hopefully, they pinpoint it and shut the pipes off."

"There were issues with the drainage system at Dodger Stadium. The club has made repairs and has thoroughly examined the entire system. The team is confident that there will be no further issues," the team said in a statement Wednesday.

Foes Become Friends
On the field, Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp both homered. Fans might remember that back in 2014, the two teammates had a heated exchange inside the dugout during a Sept. 16th game against the Rockies.

Now, the two outfielders have become great friends, forming a bond over spring training as their lockers were close to each other. They provided the power for the Dodgers on Tuesday night.

Roster Moves

After Monday's loss at Dodger Stadium, manager Dave Roberts said that Matt Kemp, Trayce Thompson, Joc Pederson and Andrew Toles were still competing for the final two outfield spots remaining on the Opening Day roster.

Part of that jumbled equation was solved early in the morning on Tuesday as the Dodgers designated Trayce Thompson for assignment, all but ending his tenure as a Dodger.

"It was a tough, tough decision," said Roberts of the decision to DFA Thompson. "Trayce does a lot of things well. Where our roster is, an opportunity wasn't going to happen and obviously being out of options we had a tough decision to make. Trayce is a guy who needs to go out there and play. When he had his success here, it was a two-month spurt where he got to play a lot on a nightly basis. We just didn't see that for him right now.

"He did a lot of good things for us. What a tremendous baseball player and person. He did a lot of things well. There's some interest in him, and we obviously wish Trayce all the best, and you never know, if for some reason he does clear, we have an opportunity to get him back."

Kemp seemingly solidified his starting spot in left field with his play in spring training and his—what would turn out to be—game-winning home run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

After the game, sources told NBC4 that Matt Kemp, Kyle Farmer and Joc Pederson would be on the Opening Day roster with Andrew Toles starting the season in Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Up Next:

The 2018 season begins on Thursday as the Dodgers host the rival San Francisco Giants at 4:10 p.m. PT. Clayton Kershaw will make his 8th consecutive Opening Day start opposite Ty Blach of the Giants.

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