The pet rock that James Outman inherited from pitcher Marshall Kasowski at triple-A Oklahoma City last season and traveled with him to Phoenix this spring followed the Dodgers rookie outfielder to Chavez Ravine this week, though it hasn’t taken up permanent residence in Outman’s locker.
“It was passed down to me with the idea that it would bring good fortune,” Outman said of the gray fist-sized stone with a toothy smile drawn in black-magic marker as a face. “We had him as a mascot for the pitchers, and they started giving up too many hits.
“We figured it would be good for the hitters, so they gave it to me. But I think the expectation was that, at some point, I’d pass down ‘Rocko’ to the next person.”
The next person is going to have to wait. Outman is not about to drop the rock, not after crushing a two-run homer in the sixth inning of his first start in Dodger Stadium, an opposite-field shot to left center that sealed an 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks before a sellout crowd of 52,075 on Thursday night.
The left-handed-hitting Outman also walked and scored on Will Smith’s score-tying two-run single in the third inning and singled to right field, alertly took second on a bobble by Jake McCarthy and scored on Smith’s sacrifice fly in the eighth.
“I don’t think any moment is going to be too big for him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Outman, who won a platoon role by hitting .283 (15 for 53) with a team-leading eight extra-base hits, three of them homers, and 11 RBI in 23 spring games.
“It’s sort of his heartbeat, the head. He’s just got a good, calm demeanor. There’s a quiet confidence there. So him hitting a homer tonight wasn’t surprising.”
Outman, 25, showed little emotion when Roberts informed him after Tuesday night’s Freeway Series exhibition finale against the Angels that he would be starting in center field on Thursday night.
“I think he sort of straight-faced me,” Roberts said. “He kind of gave me a nod while chewing his bubblegum. And that was it. It was good. I liked that. … He does a good job of getting the emotions through that gum he is always chewing.”
James Outman, right, celebrates with Miguel Vargas after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Two nights later, as he prepared for his first-ever opening-day start, Outman’s stomach was churning.
“Yeah, definitely at the beginning,” Outman said, when asked if he was nervous. “I couldn’t stay still when they were doing all the [pregame introductions]. But, you know, once the game started going, I kind of settled them a little bit.”
His first plate appearance helped. Outman fell behind Arizona ace Zac Gallen with a two-strike count but took the next four pitches for balls, laying off an 86-mph changeup just below the zone for a walk.
Outman took third on Miguel Rojas’ ground-rule double to right field and scored when Smith poked a two-out, two-run single to right field to make it 2-2.
“I think it definitely relaxed me, for sure,” Outman said of the walk. “You know, just getting on base, running and scoring. And in that situation, we tied the game up, so at that point, it just felt like we were in a ballgame.”
Outman struck out on Gallen’s 88-mph cut-fastball in the fourth, and the Dodgers scored three runs on RBI singles by Smith, J.D. Martinez and David Peralta in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead.
Outman followed fellow rookie Miguel Vargas’ leadoff walk in the sixth by lining a 94-mph fastball from reliever Cole Sulser 390 feet over the wall in left-center for his second homer–he homered once in a four-game cameo with the Dodgers last summer–and a 7-2 lead.
He also scored an insurance run in the eighth after leading off with a single to right, taking second on an error and scoring on Smith’s sacrifice fly, which gave the Dodgers catcher four RBIs in the game.
As Outman prepared himself for Thursday night’s game, he heard a familiar refrain from veterans such as first baseman Freddie Freeman and right fielder Mookie Betts.
“Guys said you only get one first opening-day start, so really enjoy it,” Outman said. “Soak it all in.”
Outman appeared to do just that as he rounded the bases on his first regular-season home run in Dodger Stadium.
“It was cool,” Outman said. “The fans are awesome. It was awesome. It was a dream come true.”
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