SEOUL — The Dodgers’ offseason was one of the talked about in baseball historical past. Not solely did they signal Shohei Ohtani, arguably one of the best expertise the game has ever seen, however additionally they spent over $1 billion in contracts this winter.
With all that spending and a star-studded roster comes heightened expectations and strain. Going into the season, the Dodgers know they’ll get each opponent’s finest punch.
Of their first likelihood to indicate off their loaded lineup in 2024, the Dodgers confirmed precisely what’s going to make them a tricky crew to beat, erupting for 4 runs within the eighth inning en path to a season-opening 5-2 win over the Padres on Wednesday on the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea.
By way of seven innings, the Dodgers have been knocking on the door, however have been struggling to interrupt via. Towards Yu Darvish, Los Angeles had a few run-scoring alternatives, particularly within the third inning. Darvish, nevertheless, struck out Max Muncy swinging to finish the body and strand the bases loaded.
However after getting a fortunate break on a ball that actually broke via Jake Cronenworth’s glove, which might put them forward for good, the Dodgers’ superstars weren’t leaving the rest as much as likelihood. Mookie Betts gave the Dodgers a 4-2 lead with an RBI single. On the following pitch, Ohtani adopted with an RBI single of his personal. In his first recreation as a Dodger, Ohtani went 2-for-5 with two singles and a stolen base.