The time has come: baseball is back! The Los Angeles Dodgers recently took on the Chicago Cubs in a riveting Tokyo Series, where the Dodgers showed their dominance once again. Winning both games, the team saw success with their offense and defense.
Game one was quite the performance for the Los Angeles bullpen, as four different arms closed off the game without allowing a single hit. Blake Treinen tallied two strikeouts in his shutout inning, and left-hander Tanner Scott racked up the save. The offense was also once again carried by last year’s National League MVP, Shohei Ohtani, who tallied two hits on the night.
Catcher Will Smith was also a big help, as he was on base all night racking up one hit with three walks. Fans were most excited for game two, as recently signed right-handed pitcher Roki Sasaki made his major-league debut. Unfortunately for Sasaki, he struggled quite a bit, walking five batters within three innings. While he only allowed one earned run, he struggled with his location and control on the mound. This was expected, though, as he is transitioning to a new baseball playstyle, just like Yamamoto did last season. Sasaki will appear once again in his start in game three against the Tigers in the opening home series, where his control on the mound will have hopefully improved.. Ohtani and Tommy Edman racked up home runs in game two of the Tokyo series, helping the team walk away with a 6-3 victory.
Now, the Dodgers will take on the Detroit Tigers in their opening home series beginning on March 27th. Blake Snell will make his Dodgers debut as the team’s starting pitcher for the game, facing off against 2024 Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal. This matchup between two former Cy Young award winners will be an exciting one. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start game two on the bump, followed up by rookie Roki Sasaki as game three’s starter.
After winning the World Series last year, the Dodgers have continued to improve their roster, posing as a potential back-to-back winning team. Mookie Betts will be coming off a sickness to begin the season, which has set him back in recent days. He will be starting at shortstop, a position that he has played in the past but is still new to him. Freddie Freeman is also coming back from his ankle injury which affected him majorly at the end of the 2024 season. He will hit cleanup in the home opener. As the Dodgers continued to add to their roster over the offseason, an exciting year is surely ahead.
The team’s consistency last season is what drove it to win the World Series, and they will most likely approach this season with the same strategies, especially under their successful management. As opening day commences, welcome back to baseball.
AloJapan.com