GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Yasiel Puig drew the short straw and was first to face Clayton Kershaw, as he threw live batting practice for the first time this spring. Puig was ready, swinging at the first pitch and hitting a soft liner.
"I probably should have," Kershaw said when asked if he expected Puig's ambush.
Otherwise, Kershaw's least-favorite Spring Training assignment was rather routine, 22 pitches, most of them tracked and taken by Puig, Chris Taylor and Andrew Toles.
If he's on a five-day schedule, Kershaw will start Sunday's exhibition game against Seattle in Peoria in the next step toward his eighth consecutive Opening Day start March 29.