Dodger Thoughts

For more photos from Wednesday, visit LA Photog Blog.

[mlbvideo id=”44450783″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
By Jon Weisman

Yasiel Puig certainly didn’t look uncomfortable in center field Wednesday, at least until he collided with the wall.

And sure, I held my breath as his back smacked, but all was well.

Puig not only continues to look both athletic and smart in the outfield, he helped get the Dodgers going on offense by beating out an infield single and later avoiding a sure force at third base to load the bases.

He’ll still draw howls every time he makes a mistake, but don’t be surprised if those mistakes come farther and farther apart.

Meanwhile …

• Zack Greinke, who allowed five baserunners in two innings of Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to Chicago, feels healthy but said he was experimenting with his slider, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. “I’ve been trying to make the slider better than last year, but it hasn’t worked,” Greinke said. “I’m trying to figure if I keep trying or go back to last year’s. I’m trying everything. It looks good, but I’m giving up more hits than normal.”
• Here’s what Julio Urias had to say after allowing three singles and a sacrifice fly, via J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News: “It looks like a bad outing on paper, but I look at it as a good outing because it’s something I can work on,” Urias said through an interpreter. “My confidence is absolutely there. I want to work on the slider, the changeup as well, locating pitches in the zone.”
• The four batters Urias faced (Anthony Rizzo, Starlin Castro, Miguel Montero and Chris Coghlan) are a combined 38 years older than the 18-year-old pitcher.
• Non-roster lefty reliever David Huff has impressed Don Mattingly, according to Gurnick. “He’s got a lot of weapons, a clean delivery and he handles everything well,” Mattingly said. “He’s really interesting.”
• The Dodgers used five former first-round picks on the mound in Wednesday’s game: Greinke, Huff, Zach Lee, Chris Reed and Chris Anderson, who took the loss after allowing a run on a walk, single and sacrifice fly in the eighth.
• Darnell Sweeney has been working closely with Davey Lopes this spring, writes Ari Kaye for MLB.com.
• Former Dodger reliever Peter Moylan signed an unusual deal with Atlanta, notes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Moylan, who is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, will be a Rookie League player-coach in 2015 with an invite to Spring Training as a Major Leaguer in 2016.