Dodgers take Opening Day behind late surge
Fredo Cervantes
Host · Writer
LOS ANGELES — The pageantry came first — the thunder of fireworks, the shimmer of championship banners, and the unmistakable hum of 53,712 voices ready to usher in another October chase. The substance arrived a few innings later.
And when it did, it came all at once.
Behind a late offensive eruption and a composed recovery from their ace, the Los Angeles Dodgers opened their 2026 title defense with an 8-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.
For four innings, it looked nothing like a celebration. Then it looked exactly like the Dodgers.
A rocky start, then a reset
The symmetry was too perfect to ignore: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the reigning World Series MVP, taking the mound on Opening Day — a feat previously accomplished in franchise history only by Sandy Koufax.
But the first real swing of the season belonged to Geraldo Perdomo.
Up 0-2 in the count, Yamamoto tried to elevate a fastball. Instead, he left it just enough over the plate. Perdomo didn’t miss, launching a two-run homer into the right-field pavilion and briefly quieting the celebratory mood.
From there, the right-hander had to recalibrate. He did more than that.
After the home run, Yamamoto retired nine consecutive hitters and steadied himself into a six-inning outing that, while not dominant, was undeniably effective: six innings, two runs, no walks, six strikeouts.
“That was an 0-2 pitch that he tried to go up and in… and made a mistake,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I think that he and Will did a great job using both sides of the plate and changing speeds.”
Yamamoto’s own assessment was simpler: reset, refocus, respond.
The Dodgers’ offense, meanwhile, spent four innings searching for rhythm.
After Shohei Ohtani led off the game with a single, the lineup went quiet. No hits. No pressure. No breakthrough.
Until the fifth.
Max Muncy opened the inning with a single. Teoscar Hernández followed with an infield hit. Suddenly, there was life — and opportunity.
It found Andy Pages.
On an 81 mph knuckle curve left in the wrong spot, Pages delivered the first signature swing of the Dodgers’ season, crushing a three-run homer into the left-field pavilion. In one swing, a 2-0 deficit became a 3-2 lead.
“I believe he made an error on the pitch… I was just waiting for it to do damage,” Pages said.
The inning didn’t stop there. Four runs crossed. The tone shifted permanently.
New faces, familiar results
By the seventh, the Dodgers were fully in control — and showcasing exactly why their lineup remains one of baseball’s most feared.
With Ohtani aboard, newly acquired Kyle Tucker delivered his first meaningful moment in Dodger blue, driving a double into the gap to score Ohtani from first and extend the lead.
Moments later, Will Smith punctuated the night with a two-run homer, finishing 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
Pages added a two-hit night. Ohtani reached and scored. Even on a quiet night from Freddie Freeman — the only Dodger without a hit — the lineup produced in waves.
“As long as we can be disciplined like we were tonight,” Roberts said, “we should have opportunities to put up big numbers.”
If there was any lingering doubt, the bullpen erased it quickly. Blake Treinen worked around the only hit allowed over the final three innings. Will Klein needed just nine pitches for a clean eighth. Tanner Scott closed the ninth with equal efficiency.
Three innings. One hit. No runs.
The long view begins
It’s one game. In March. With 161 still ahead. But it’s also a reminder of the standard.
The Dodgers are chasing a 14th consecutive postseason berth, which would tie the Atlanta Braves for the longest streak in Major League Baseball history. Nights like this — uneven early, overwhelming late — are often how those runs are built.
“Winning the very first game of the season, that was big for us,” Yamamoto said. “We just need to come together and keep going.”
They’ll continue the series Friday night, when the celebration resumes with a ring ceremony honoring back-to-back championships. The banners are already up. Now the work of defending them is underway.
