Dodgers flex lineup strength with late comeback in Seoul opener

SEOUL -- The Dodgers’ offseason was one of the most talked about in baseball history. Not only did they sign Shohei Ohtani, arguably the best talent the sport has ever seen, but they also spent over $1 billion in contracts this winter.

Over the course of a couple of weeks, the Dodgers became baseball’s version of a super team. They now have three former Most Valuable Players atop their lineup in Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Ohtani, and the highest-paid pitcher in the history of the sport in Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They quickly became the center of attention.

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With all that spending and a star-studded roster comes heightened expectations and pressure. Going into the season, the Dodgers know they’ll get every opponent’s best punch.

In the first chance to show off their loaded 2024 lineup, the Dodgers displayed exactly what will make them a tough team to beat, erupting for four runs in the eighth inning en route to a season-opening 5-2 win over the Padres on Wednesday at the Gocheok SkyDome in Seoul, South Korea.

“The biggest thing is that we got that W and the way we got it,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “Coming back late in the game like that proves that we’re a really good team.”

Through seven innings, the Dodgers were knocking on the door but struggling to break through. Against Yu Darvish, Los Angeles had a couple of run-scoring opportunities, especially in the third inning. Darvish, however, struck out Max Muncy swinging to end the frame and strand the bases loaded. The Dodgers started the game 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base through seven.

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Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow kept L.A. in the game, allowing two runs over five innings in his team debut. That gave enough time for the Dodgers to ultimately mount their comeback. Keeping this lineup down for nine innings promises to be a difficult task for opponents this season.

Down a run with six outs to play with, Muncy opened the eighth with a leadoff walk against left-hander Wandy Peralta. Teoscar Hernández and James Outman then followed with a single and a walk, respectively, to set the tone for the top of the lineup.

After getting a lucky break on a ball that literally broke through Jake Cronenworth’s glove, which put Los Angeles ahead for good, the Dodgers’ superstars were not leaving anything else up to chance. Mookie Betts made it 4-2 with an RBI single. On the next pitch, Ohtani added an RBI knock of his own. In his first game as a Dodger, Ohtani went 2-for-5 with two singles and a stolen base.

“I felt like we could have scored a lot more runs if I’d [have] gotten on earlier or gotten on after Mookie,” Ohtani said. “I think there were a lot of chances to score more runs than we did today.”

While that’s true, in the end, seven of the nine starters reached base safely at least once on Wednesday. Jason Heyward, who was one of the two who didn’t, contributed with a sacrifice fly in the fourth. Lux, the other player who didn’t record a hit, played a key role in the eighth-inning rally by hitting the ball that broke through Cronenworth’s glove webbing.

"I just think there's no give,” Lux said. “One through nine, everyone's going to give you a tough at-bat. We're going to grind you down, grind you out, and plus you've got guys that can do damage up and down the lineup, too. Today was a good [example that] we're not going to give up, not going to give in, and one through nine, we're going to grind you down."

All the attention will be on the Dodgers' offense this season. It’s a lineup that can strike at any moment. It took just one game to show the entire baseball world how relentless the bats can be.

“There’s a lot more eyeballs on the Dodgers and on Major League Baseball,” Roberts said. “I wouldn’t say tonight was a marquee game, but I thought Tyler kept us in the ballgame and the offense came alive at the end. It was a good ballgame, and I expect a lot more games like this.”