World Series Champion Dodgers Open The Season In Style

Opening Day has been referred to a quasi-national holiday in many quarters. Each team prepares something special, with full line-ups announced and red, white, and blue bunting hanging from the grandstands. Nearly every team sells out their home opener, even if they never draw close to that many fans the rest of the season.

But when a team is coming off a World Series title, and that team happens to play just a few miles from the famed Hollywood sign, Opening Day is that much more grand. And on Thursday afternoon, the crowd at Dodger Stadium was treated to a very special start to the season.

It began with the Dodgers starting lineup walking out from center field on an appropriately blue carpet. Once the players were in place, a slickly produced video appeared on Diamond Vision. The production showed the Commissioner’s Trophy traveling around Los Angeles, appearing at various sporting events and television programs, with a stop at a local fire station. It culminated with the trophy being driven around the rim of the city by Dodger fan/legend Ice Cube in a Dodger Blue ’57 Chevy with various players and moments painted along the trim of the car. Cube then pulled into Dodger Stadium, driving on the warning track and stopping in front of the Dodgers dugout to deliver the trophy. He placed it on a table in front of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who, with his players, was aligned along the third base line.

But the festivities were not over. Los Angeles native, Grammy-nominated Josh Groban belted out the national anthem. And then MC Joe Davis introduced World Series legend Kirk Gibson by rehashing his call from Game 1 of the World Series (which, in turn, was a callback to Vin Scully’s famous call from 1988), announcing: “Gibby…meet Freddie.” Gibson then threw out the ceremonial first pitch to the Dodgers first baseman.

It was then that Billie Jean King, Magic Johnson, Todd Boehly, and others in the Dodgers ownership group raised their championship flag in center field. That was followed by the unveiling of the World Series plaque along the right field line, with those honors going to captains of the Los Angeles and Pasadena Fire Departments.

And then the game began. The first pitch that former two-time Cy Young-winner, and newly-signed Dodger Blake Snell, threw to Andy Ibáñez was lined into the glove of third baseman Max Muncy. The Tigers went 1-2-3. Former three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani wasted no time, grounding the first pitch thrown by reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to first baseman Colt Keith.

NLCS hero Tommy Edman started the scoring with a home run deep into the left field pavilion in the bottom of the second. Snell threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the fourth, allowing the tying run to score. Snell then loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth before recently-acquired Tiger Manuel Margot hit a sacrifice fly to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

Skubal wasn’t his dominant self at any point in the game. With two outs and Shohei Ohtani on first in the bottom of the fifth, Skubal walked Mookie Betts on four pitches. Teoscar Hernández hit the next pitch over the center field wall for a three-run homer, giving the Dodgers a 4-2 lead.

Neither Snell nor Skubal pitched beyond the fifth inning. Spencer Torkelson, who was rumored to start the season at Triple-A, homered in the top of the seventh to draw Detroit within one run. But the Dodgers got that run right back in the bottom half. No moment is too big for, and no big moment cannot include, Shohei, who lined an outside pitch at 109 MPH into the left field pavilion to again extend the lead to two runs.

Free agent-signee Tanner Scott made his second appearance for the Dodgers and was greeted by a ringing triple to center off the bat of former Dodger Zach McKinstry. McKinstry came around to score on a Kerry Carpenter sacrifice fly.

Blake Treinen came in for the save in the ninth. He went single, strike out, walk, strike out, and then got Colt Keith to pop out – fittingly – to Freddie Freeman to end the game and move Los Angeles to 3-0 on the season.

The crowd roared as Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” blared out from the speakers as 53,595 happy fans streamed out of Dodger Stadium and into the Los Angeles twilight. An Opening Day for the ages; the Dodgers win again; same as it ever was.

*POSTSCRIPT: On Friday night, the Dodgers entered the bottom of the 10^th inning trailing the Tigers 5-3. After a double and two singles, Mookie Betts belted a walk-off three-run homer, giving the Dodgers an 8-5 win, and moving them to 4-0 on the young season.