{"id":131714,"date":"2025-03-29T12:14:40","date_gmt":"2025-03-29T12:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/dodgers-raise-world-series-banner-shohei-ohtani-comes-out-swinging-in-home-opener-in-la-usa-today\/"},"modified":"2025-03-29T12:14:40","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T12:14:40","slug":"dodgers-raise-world-series-banner-shohei-ohtani-comes-out-swinging-in-home-opener-in-la-usa-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/dodgers-raise-world-series-banner-shohei-ohtani-comes-out-swinging-in-home-opener-in-la-usa-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers raise World Series banner, Shohei Ohtani comes out swinging in home opener in LA – USA TODAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2212 It wasn\u2019t a domestic season-opener Thursday at Dodger Stadium, it was a Hollywood premiere.
The Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019<\/a> home opener against the Detroit Tigers<\/a>, culminating with a 5-4 victory<\/a>, belonged on the big screen, not on a grass field in front of a frenzied sold-out crowd of 53,595.
There was Shohei Ohtani<\/a> homering for the second time this season, with Hollywood stars Tom Hanks, Mary Hart and Rob Lowe celebrating as if they just won an Oscar.
There was Teoscar Hernandez with the biggest hit of the game, a go-ahead 3-run homer, making manager Dave Roberts look like a genius for putting him third in the batting order.
There were the Dodgers winning once again, baseball\u2019s only 3-0 team, with visions of winning more regular-season games than any team in history.
And once again, there was Randy Newman\u2019s \u201cI Love L.A.,\u2019\u2019 blaring into the night as fans headed for the exits.
When the night was over, all the Dodgers could talk about was their spectacular pre-game ceremony, making the game almost anticlimactic.
\u201cIt was amazing,\u2019\u2019 Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy told USA TODAY Sports. \u201cIt just gives you chills kind of seeing everything and seeing the trophy back on the field. It\u2019s just really cool. They went above and beyond.
\u201cBut it\u2019s kind of what you\u2019ve come to expect out of this city, out of this organization, and that\u2019s a good thing.\u2019\u2019
The party began with fans driving early in the morning to grab a close parking spot, walking briskly into the ballpark, and three hours before game-time, the gift shops were jammed, the concession stands were long, and everybody was buying everything they could find with the Dodgers\u2019 name on everything from uniforms to shot glasses to hats.
Why, even Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten was parading around with an eight-time World Series championship leather jacket in the clubhouse and on the field, reminding everyone that they\u2019re available for $300 in Dodger souvenir stores.
The continuation of the World Series celebration began at 6:34 p.m. ET when the Dodgers, wearing gold trim on their white uniforms and gold numbers on the back, strolled out through the center-field gate. They were accompanied by blue pyrotechnics and white smoke machines, and skipped along the blue carpet on the field as the crowd screamed louder and louder.
They lined up along the third-base line, when everyone was instructed to look at the scoreboard. There was a video of rapper Ice Cube driving a dark blue Chevy Bel-Air convertible with the World Series trophy in the passenger\u2019s seat. The center-field gate opened, and there he was live, driving along the warning track and parking in front of the Dodgers dugout where he walked out and handed it to Magic Johnson, who took it to home plate.
The Dodgers weren\u2019t done. They wanted to commemorate Freddie Freeman\u2019s historic walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees<\/a>, so they brought the entire Freeman family out on the field with his wife, kids, dad and stepmom. Freeman\u2019s father, Fred, was handed the mic, who said, \u201cI\u2019m living the Dad\u2019s perfect dream.\u2019\u2019
Dodgers broadcaster Joe Davis reminded everyone that Freeman\u2019s homer was so eerily reminiscent of Kirk Gibson\u2019s 1988 home run in Game 1 of the World Series against Oakland that he felt it was time the two should get together on the field.
\u201cGibby, meet Freddie,\u201d said Davis, a reversal of his Game 1 call last year when he said, \u201cFreddie, meet Gibby.\u201d
Out came Gibson, who also led the Detroit Tigers to the 1984 World Series title, and the crowd roared. He walked onto the field to shake Freeman\u2019s hand, took pictures, and stepped to the mound to throw the ceremonial first pitch, with Freeman catching it, of course.
Now, it was time for the unveiling of the World Series banner, with the Dodgers\u2019 ownership group huddled in the center-field pavilion, and with Johnson and tennis legend Billie Jean King tugging on the rope, hoisted the banner high into the air next the American flag. The 2024 World Series plaque was then unveiled in the right-field corner by captains of the Los Angeles and Pasadena fire departments.
The teams lined up for the national anthem, sung by Josh Groban, followed by a flyover with four jets, two F-15Cs and two F-35 Lightning fighter jets, and then Ice Cube grabbing the mic and announcing, \u201cIt\u2019s time for Dodger baseball.\u2019\u2019
\u201cI thought the ceremony was fantastic,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, \u201ca beautiful day, acknowledging what we accomplished in 2024. I thought the fans were really into it. The presentation with Freddie meeting Gibby, I thought Gibby throwing out the first pitch was fantastic.
\u201cEvery day is special in its own right, but having these gold hats and uniforms, we nailed it.\u201d
The game was a thriller, too, but paled in comparison to the pre-game festivities, even with two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell making his Dodgers debut against reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. Snell gave up nine baserunners in just five innings, but the Tigers couldn\u2019t capitalize, going 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position off Snell, and 0-for-15 in the game.
\u201cI\u2019m excited to get that one out of the way,\u2019\u2019 Snell said. \u201cThey\u2019re a scrappy team.\u2019\u2019
Snell would have loved to catch the pre-game ceremony, but he figures he\u2019ll watch the replay, and would trade off missing Thursday\u2019s ceremony for Friday\u2019s ring presentation any day.
\u201cI can\u2019t wait for that,\u2019\u2019 said Snell, even though he won\u2019t be getting a ring since he pitched last season for the San Francisco Giants. \u201cI\u2019m just excited to see what they look like.\u2019\u2019
Meanwhile, the decision of the day belonged to Roberts when he decided to bat Hernandez third in the lineup, dropping Freeman, a left-handed hitter, to the cleanup spot with left-handed Skubal on the mound.
\u201cThere\u2019s a Teoscar tax to get to Freddie a third time,\u2019\u2019 Roberts said before game. \u201cIt makes it tougher for a pitcher and manager to navigate though our lineup with Freddie facing a lefty.\u2019\u2019
So what happens?
Hernandez, with two men and two outs and the Dodgers trailing 2-1, belted Skubal\u2019s 96-mph fastball into the center-field seats for a 3-run homer, a lead the Dodgers never surrendered.
\u201cObviously, I put the best show that I can give to the fans,\u2019\u2019 Hernandez said, \u201cso they can enjoy the game.\u2019\u2019
Next up, the World Series ring ceremony Friday. They\u2019ll be facing Tigers starter Jack Flaherty, who just so happened to help them win that ring, and will get his ring Saturday.
Besides infielder\/outfielder Enrique Hernandez feeling sick and unable to even come to the game, the only glitch of the Dodgers\u2019 day came in the early afternoon when Ohtani entered the Dodgers\u2019 glitzy new two-level clubhouse, which looks more like a bar \u201cW\u2019\u2019 with its lighting than a baseball locker room. Ohtani, one of the last to arrive, quickly dressed, but he couldn\u2019t find his uniform belt. He summoned a clubhouse attendant. He searched the three enclaves in Ohtani\u2019s locker. He looked into the bottom four drawers in Ohtani\u2019s locker. Still nothing. Finally, he stood on his tip-toes, reached into the space high above Ohtani\u2019s locker, and pulled out his duffel bag.
Ohtani and the attendant fumbled through the bag, and finally, there it was, the shiny new blue belt.
The show could go on, and, yes, Ohtani was wearing the same belt when he smacked a home run into left field, with everyone going home happy and believing this could be yet another season to remember.
\u201cThis was technically not the opening series for us so I was able to play the game the way I wanted to,\u2019\u2019 Ohtani said. \u201cBut with that being said though, playing in front of these fans, and this circumstance, it does make want to motivate myself to win another championship.\u2019\u2019
In the words of Roberts, \u201cWe want to run it back.\u2019\u2019
Again and again and again.
\u201cThere’s a lot of excitement with our fanbase,\u2019\u2019 Roberts said, \u201cand our players can feel it.\u2019\u2019
Three down, 159 more games, and the month of October to go.
Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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LOS ANGELES \u2212 It wasn\u2019t a domestic season-opener Thursday at Dodger Stadium, it was a Hollywood premiere.The Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 home opener against the Detroit Tigers, culminating with a 5-4 victory, belonged on the big screen, not on a grass field in front of a frenzied sold-out crowd of 53,595.There was Shohei Ohtani homering for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":131715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}