Two-way star Shohei Ohtani returned to the Dodgers’ lineup after missing the series’ previous two games, activated off the paternity list after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child in Southern California. Ohtani went 0 for 3 with a walk that helped produce the game’s only run.

Pinch-hitter Will Smith led off the Dodgers’ eighth against Chris Martin (0-3) with a single, the Dodgers’ third and last hit of the game. Smith advanced to second on Ohtani’s walk, moved to third on a deep fly out to right field, and scored on Freeman’s fly to deep left.

Anthony Banda, Ben Casparius (2-0), Jack Dreyer, Evan Phillips and Tanner Scott combined for five shutout innings. Scott earned his eighth save.

Wyatt Langford, who returned to Texas’ lineup after missing nine games with a mild oblique strain, was thrown out trying to steal second base to end the game. The Rangers’ challenge was denied.

Glasnow was visited by manager Dave Roberts and trainer Thomas Albert during the fourth inning but stayed in the game.

Rangers starter Tyler Mahle pitched seven scoreless innings allowing two hits, striking four and walking three.

Key Moment

Phillips struck out Adolis García swinging to end Texas’ eighth inning, leaving the potential tying run at second base.

Key Stat

Mahle lowered his earned run average to 0.68, best in the major leagues. His league-best opponents’ batting average dropped to .112.

Up Next

Both teams will next play Tuesday on the road. Dodgers RHP Dustin May (1-1, 1.06 ERA) will open a series against the Chicago Cubs while Rangers LHP Patrick Corbin (1-0, 3.86) will face Athletics RHP Osvaldo Bido (2-1, 2.61) on Texas’ first trip to Sacramento.

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Andy Pages drove in three runs and Austin Barnes had a two-run double for the Dodgers, who blew most of an early 7-1 lead before their bullpen secured the series sweep with six innings of three-hit ball.

Michael Toglia hit a grand slam and Mickey Moniak also homered in the third inning for the Rockies, who have lost 33 of 43 to Los Angeles.

Ohtani delivered a 448-foot leadoff homer to the back row of the right-field bleachers on the fourth pitch by Germán Márquez (0-3), and the reigning NL MVP added an RBI single that chased Márquez while the Dodgers batted around in the first.

But right-hander Bobby Miller struggled in his Dodgers season debut. The touted prospect who couldn’t seize a golden chance to make LA’s injury-plagued rotation last season yielded six runs and eight hits in three innings against Colorado, striking out seven.

Toglia interrupted his dismal start to the season with his second career slam in the third, and Moniak added a solo shot four pitches later.

Ben Casparius (1-0) pitched three innings of two-hit relief.

The last-place Rockies went 0-6 on their Southern California road trip, dropping to 3-15 this season.

Key Moment

Tanner Scott allowed a single but struck out three Rockies in the ninth for his sixth save. He threw all 11 of his pitches for strikes.

Key Stat

Colorado scored more runs than it managed in the first five games of this trip combined (5).

Up Next

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-1, 1.23 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers at Texas on Friday. Chase Dollander (1-1, 5.06) starts for the Rockies at home against Washington.

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Ethan Roberts (1-0), the fourth of seven Cubs pitchers used, got the win after getting two outs in the sixth inning. Ryan Pressly pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save as the Cubs took two of three from the Dodgers.

Crow-Armstrong blasted a 412-foot shot over the center-field wall off Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen (0-2) to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead in the seventh.

Chicago made it 4-2 in the eighth when Nico Hoerner lined a two-out RBI single that right fielder Teoscar Hernández nearly made a spectacular diving catch on.

Cubs relievers Julian Merryweather, Porter Hodge and Pressly combined for three hitless innings.

Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow gave up three hits in six innings, but two left the yard. Crow-Armstrong opened the third with a 370-foot drive off the right-field pole for a 1-1 tie. Busch capped a nine-pitch at-bat with a homer for a 2-1 Cubs lead in the sixth.

The Dodgers answered in the bottom of the sixth on Max Muncy’s sacrifice fly that tied it at 2.

Key Moment

The Dodgers had the potential go-ahead run on third with one out in the sixth, but Roberts preserved the 2-2 tie by getting Kiké Hernández to line out to third baseman Matt Shaw, who made a lunging backhand grab, and Miguel Rojas to fly to center.

Key Stat

Busch, acquired from the Dodgers in January 2024, also singled in the fourth and is batting .326 (14 for 43) with three homers, six doubles and 12 RBIs in 11 games against his former team.

Up Next

Dodgers RHP Dustin May (0-1, 0.82 ERA) starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series at home against Colorado. Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (1-1, 6.06 ERA) starts Monday’s opener of a three-game series at San Diego.

The post Crow-Armstrong Homers Twice and Cubs Take Series With Victory Over Dodgers appeared first on GV Wire.

Los Angeles designated hitter Shohei Ohtani went 2 for 4 with singles in the first and seventh and a walk in the second. He scored two runs and raised his batting average to .315.

The Dodgers, who went 2-4 on their trip to Philadelphia and Washington, snapped the Nationals’ four-game winning streak.

Los Angeles rallied against Eduardo Salazar (0-1) in the seventh. Andy Pages homered with one out to tie it at 5, and Ohtani followed with a single. Tommy Edman walked two batters later, and Hernández floated a single to right field that scored Ohtani.

Kirby Yates (1-0) pitched the sixth for the Dodgers. Blake Treinen worked the ninth for his second save, stranding two runners in scoring position when James Wood grounded out.

The Nationals scored three runs in the first on two hits, including CJ Abrams’ leadoff home run, and two more against Landon Knack in the third. Knack allowed five runs over 2 1/3 innings in his first start of the season.

Washington starter Jake Irvin yielded a single, a walk, a triple and Hernández’s fifth homer of the year to open the game, then didn’t permit another runner to reach third. He allowed four runs in six innings while striking out seven.

Key Moment

Hernández looped an opposite-field single just beyond the reach of second baseman Luis García Jr. in the seventh to knock in the deciding run.

Key Stat

Los Angeles has not been swept by the Nationals since August 2008 in Washington.

Up Next

Los Angeles is off Thursday. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamato (1-1, 1.69 ERA) starts Friday as the Dodgers begin a three-game series at home against the Chicago Cubs.

Washington LHP Mitchell Parker (2-0, 0.73), who is 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA against the Marlins, starts the opener of a three-game series in Miami on Friday.

The post Teoscar Hernández Homers and Drives in 3 as Dodgers Defeat Nationals to Avoid Sweep appeared first on GV Wire.

The Japanese superstar hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning on his bobblehead night, lifting the Dodgers over the winless Atlanta Braves 6-5 on Wednesday.

“If I didn’t get a good pitch to hit, I was willing to walk,” Ohtani said through a translator. “Coming into the inning, tied in that last at-bat, it just felt like we really had a good shot to win.”

Dodgers Start Season at 8-0

At 8-0, the Dodgers are off to the best start ever by a defending World Series champion. They’ve trailed in six of those games, but they already have two walk-off wins. And Ohtani has scored in every game.

“Overall, not just tonight, there is a really good vibe within the team,” he said, “so I just think that’s allowing us to come back in these games to win.”

A crowd of 50,281 roared as Ohtani’s 399-foot shot sailed into center field and he rounded the bases.

“You just feel he’s going to do something special,” manager Dave Roberts said.

It was hardly a surprise coming from last year’s NL MVP.

In 2024, his first season with the Dodgers, Ohtani hit a game-ending grand slam on his first bobblehead night. He had a walk-off homer on another of his giveaway nights.

“He keeps getting into these situations and moments where you’re expecting the unthinkable out of him and he rarely disappoints. That’s really saying something,” said teammate Max Muncy, whose two-run double tied the game in the eighth and set the stage for Ohtani.

Dodgers starter Blake Snell said: “When he was coming up and it’s his bobblehead night — everyone knew. We knew. It’s just what he does.”

Dodger Fans Line Up for Ohtani Bobbleheads

Thousands lined up hours before first pitch to secure the first of four Ohtani bobbleheads this season. As like last year, traffic snarled around the stadium with helicopters showing the chaos on local television.

“Just grateful as a player to just be able to perform and have an opportunity like this,” said Ohtani, who finished 3 for 5. “I think the credit really goes to Max Muncy to be able to pull through and tie the game.”

Muncy ditched the new torpedo bat he had used earlier in favor of his usual lumber.

“I do think there was some good to using the torpedo bat, just in BP and everything,” he said. “It might be something that I use as a practice bat and then go back to my bat for the game. It seemed to work that last at-bat.”

The Dodgers rallied from a 5-0 deficit after Muncy’s two early errors at third base led to five unearned runs by the Braves against Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner making his second start for his new team.

“I was dumbfounded with the way we were playing. I didn’t recognize that club in the first couple of innings,” Roberts said. “We had no business winning that game, but to our guys’ credit we just kept fighting.”

The bullpen picked up Snell, allowing just three hits over the final five innings. Rookie reliever Jack Dreyer earned his first major league win with two hitless innings.

“We all believe,” Snell said. “We got each other’s backs, and it’s a good feeling to have.”

For Muncy, it seems similar to last year’s never-say-die attitude that helped the Dodgers to their eighth World Series title.

“We’ve been carrying it into this season. It’s been fun to watch,” he said. “The guys don’t give up. No one’s really been down or out on themselves. Just seeing the guys in the clubhouse come together like that, it’s a pretty cool moment.”

The post Ohtani’s Walk-off Homer Boosts Dodgers to 8-0 With Another Comeback Win appeared first on GV Wire.

With a 7-0 mark, the defending World Series champions are off to the club’s best start since moving to Los Angeles. The only better starts in franchise history came in 1955 (10-0) and 1940 (9-0) when the team was located in Brooklyn.

The slumping Braves fell to 0-6 for the first time since opening 0-9 in 2016.

May allowed just one hit and an unearned run. He struck out six and walked three in his first start since May 17, 2023. The right-hander missed last season while rehabbing from a torn flexor tendon in his right arm. In 2023, his season ended with Tommy John revision surgery.

Anthony Banda (2-0) got the win with one inning of scoreless relief. Tanner Scott earned his second save.

Betts’ throwing error at shortstop in the second led to Atlanta’s lone run.

The center-field flags were blowing straight out on a windy night when Betts’ two-run homer just cleared the left-field wall in the sixth. Also scoring was Shohei Ohtani, who singled leading off. The 2024 NL MVP has scored in each of the first seven games.

The Dodgers have homered in six straight.

They couldn’t buy a baserunner for five innings against reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale. After Betts’ homer made it 2-1, Tommy Edman singled to knock out Sale (0-1) and scored on Will Smith’s single. The left-hander gave up four hits, struck out five and walked none.

The Braves designated 41-year-old reliever Jesse Chavez for assignment and added right-hander Zach Thompson to the roster.

Key Moment

Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández made a terrific catch of Drake Baldwin’s drive leading off the seventh. He waited on the ball while security scattered, then leaned over the lower wall in right, snagging the ball in his glove. His momentum carried him over the wall, but he sprang to his feet holding his glove in the air as the crowd cheered.

Key Stat

The Dodgers tied the 1933 New York Yankees for the longest unbeaten streak by a reigning World Series winner to start a season.

Up Next

Braves RHP Bryce Elder gets the ball for the first time this season in the series finale Wednesday. LHP Blake Snell (1-0, 3.60 ERA) makes his second start for the Dodgers.

The post Dodgers Extend Perfect Start Behind May and Betts’ Heroics appeared first on GV Wire.

Shohei Ohtani launched his second home run of the season and scored twice for the Dodgers. Tommy Edman also went deep.

Snell (1-0), a two-time Cy Young Award winner who signed a $182 million, five-year contract with Los Angeles as a free agent in the offseason, allowed two runs and five hits over five innings. The left-hander struck out two and walked four.

Hernández connected off Tarik Skubal (0-1) on his first pitch with two outs in the fifth, putting the Dodgers back in front 4-2. Ohtani reached on a fielder’s choice and Mookie Betts walked to set up Hernández.

Ohtani’s solo homer in the seventh extended the lead to 5-3.

The Dodgers improved to 3-0, having opened the season with two wins over the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo this month.

The defending World Series champions and a sellout crowd of 53,595 saw the Commissioner’s Trophy arrive on the field in a blue convertible driven by rapper Ice Cube before the game.

Snell’s wild pitch led to Spencer Torkelson scoring the Tigers’ first run in the fourth.

Snell gave up back-to-back singles to Gleyber Torres and Riley Greene before walking Torkelson to load the bases in the fifth. Detroit took a 2-1 lead on Manuel Margot’s sacrifice fly.

Torkelson homered to cut the Tigers’ deficit to 4-3 in the seventh. They again got within a run in the eighth on Kerry Carpenter’s sacrifice fly off Tanner Scott.

Key Moment

Blake Treinen entered to pitch the ninth with the Dodgers leading 5-4. He put two runners on, then retired Trey Sweeney and Colt Keith for the save.

Key Stat

Skubal, last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner, gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. The left-hander struck out two and walked one.

Up Next

RHP Jack Flaherty, who left the Dodgers in the offseason to return to Detroit, makes his 2025 debut. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0, 1.80 ERA) goes for Los Angeles.

The post Snell Wins Dodgers Debut, Hernández and Ohtani Go Deep in Home-Opening Victory appeared first on GV Wire.

Playing in front of their home country, Yamamoto and Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga both pitched well in the first all-Japanese starting pitching matchup on opening day in MLB history. Imanaga threw four scoreless innings, allowing no hits but walking four.

The Dodgers jumped on Cubs reliever Ben Brown (0-1) in the fifth, scoring three runs, partly because of a throwing error by second baseman Jon Berti. Tommy Edman and Will Smith had RBI singles.

Ohtani was part of the rally, delivering a hard-hit single through the right side. He finished 2 for 5 at the plate, including a double to lead off the ninth, eventually scoring another run.

Yamamoto (1-0) gave up one run on three hits and a walk, striking out four. Tanner Scott earned his first save.

Chicago’s Miguel Amaya drove in Dansby Swanson with a two-out double that made it 1-0 in the second. The Cubs didn’t have a hit after the third.

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was scratched before the game because of left rib discomfort. Shortstop Mookie Betts will miss both games in Japan because of an illness.

Up Next

Japanese rookie Roki Sasaki will make his MLB debut for the Dodgers while left-hander Justin Steele takes the mound for the Cubs on Wednesday night for the final game in Tokyo

Key Moment

Ohtani’s single was the first hit of the game for the Dodgers, helping start a rally that would turn the game in their favor.

Key Stat

Yamamoto, Anthony Banda, Ben Casparius and Blake Treinen combined to retire 16 batters in a row from the third to the eighth innings. The streak ended when Treinen hit Berti with a pitch with one out in the eighth.

The post Yamamoto, Ohtani Deliver in Japan as Dodgers Beat Cubs in MLB Opener appeared first on GV Wire.

Manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Betts is starting to feel better but has lost nearly 15 pounds and is still trying to get rehydrated and gain strength. Roberts added that the eight-time All-Star might fly back to the United States before the team in an effort to rest and prepare for the domestic opener on March 27.

The Cubs and Dodgers open the Major League Baseball season on Tuesday at the Tokyo Dome. A second game is on Wednesday.

“He’s not going to play in these two games,” Roberts said. “When you’re dehydrated, that’s what opens a person up to soft tissue injuries. We’re very mindful of that.”

Roberts said Miguel Rojas will start at shortstop in Betts’ place for the two games at the Tokyo Dome.

Betts started suffering from flu-like symptoms at the team’s spring training home in Arizona, the day before the team left for Japan. He still made the long plane trip, but hasn’t recovered as quickly as hoped.

Roberts said if the team had known the illness would linger this long, he wouldn’t have traveled. Betts tried to go through a workout on Sunday, but became tired quickly.

Betts is making the full-time transition to shortstop this season after playing most of his career in right field and second base. The 2018 AL MVP hit .289 with 19 homers and 75 RBIs last season, helping the Dodgers win the World Series.

The post Mookie Betts Will Miss Dodgers First 2 Games Because of Illness appeared first on GV Wire.

Multiple reports on Monday said it was worth $32.4 million. At that figure he could have the highest average salary among managers, topping a five-year deal in 2024 for Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell worth more than $40 million.

Roberts heads into his 10th season at the helm with the highest winning percentage in major league history at .627 (851-507). The 52-year-old manager guided the team to World Series titles last year and in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

He is well-liked by his players and known for a calming presence that has helped integrate superstar Shohei Ohtani and his fellow Japanese pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki into the clubhouse.

Dodgers Reach Playoffs for Nine Straight Years Under Roberts

Under Roberts, the Dodgers have reached the playoffs nine straight years — a National League record — while winning four NL pennants and eight NL West titles.

“I am excited and grateful to continue this great journey with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the best organization in sports,” Roberts said in a statement. “Building my relationships with the players and the fans has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and it’s a privilege I do not take lightly.”

The Japan-born Roberts became the first manager of color in franchise history on Nov. 23, 2015, following a 10-year major league career.

“We could not be more thrilled about continuing our long-running partnership with Dave,” Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations, said in a statement. “As we’ve preached time and time again, continuity and stability are staples of this organization, and we are incredibly excited that this agreement allows us to maintain our focus of working together towards bringing more championships to Los Angeles.”

The Dodgers open the season against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo on March 18.

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