Dodgers Return To Action With Trio Of Exhibition Games

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — It's finally game time for the boys in blue!

The Dodgers will kick off a trio of exhibition games Sunday evening, with the first pitch set for 6:40 p.m.  There won't be any fans in the stands, but they will be able to watch from home on TV, thanks to a deal Spectrum Sports LA worked out with AT & T and DirecTV.

They'll face the Arizona Diamondback Sunday evening and on Monday, before facing off  against the LA Angels Tuesday.

After the exhibition run the team begins a 60 game season, 40 of which will be against the NL West.

They'll  face their NL West rivals -- the Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks and Rockies -- ten times each, as well as all of the AL West teams. It's all being done in an effort to minimize team travel during the pandemic

Since there won't be any fans in the stands, the Dodgers are experimenting with things like fan noise and other sounds to make the players feel more comfortable and make sure the other teams can't hear their plays in a silent stadium.

It's an approach welcomed by players like Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager: "The silent games are tough. It's hard to communicate with your team mates. Hard to communicate without people hearing, so definitely a little bit of background noise goes a long way to being able to game plan and talk to through some stuff without people being able to hear."

The season home opener is set for Thursday against the San Francisco Giants.