The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres began the 2024 season on Wednesday with MLB's first regular-season game in South Korea, and what began as a slow, low-offense game turned into a ripper for the Dodgers, who scored four runs in the eighth inning to win 5-2.
Tyler Glasnow made his first Dodgers start and looked strong through five innings, allowing two runs on two hits and four walks while throwing some filth.
Although the Dodgers trailed throughout about half of Glasnow's stint, he never panicked, and the four relievers who followed him did not allow another run to cross the plate, including Evan Phillips, the Dodgers' probable closer.
The Padres' pitching was not as consistent. Yu Darvish allowed only one run on two hits, but he did not make it out of the fourth inning. The Padres staff permitted nine walks and were punished with four pitch clock violations. (To be fair, the home plate umpire had an extremely limited strike zone and was determined to enforce it.) They managed to limit the Dodgers to one run until the eighth inning, when the relief trio of Wandy Peralta, Johny Brito (who took the loss), and Adrian Morejon let the Dodgers get to them.
While the Glasnow-Darvish matchup was intriguing, that was not why this game was so significant. Shohei Ohtani made his Dodgers debut, and he quickly demonstrated why he is worth $700 million.
Ohtani went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a walk, helping the team win. However, he also made his first mistake with the Dodgers, failing to tag second base before returning to first in the eighth inning. At least he got it out of the way quickly, right?
The Gocheok Sky Dome is enclosed, which slows down the speed of some fly balls. Mookie Betts and Fernando Tatis both launched deep balls that died in the outfield, but the Dodgers were able to win even without them. Even though they didn't get their first hit with a man on base until the top of the eighth, they took advantage of the Padres' wildness and the tight strike zone to load the bases in two different innings and score a slew of runs.
The Dodgers are also in debt to Padres first baseman Jake Cronenworth's glove. In the crazy eighth inning, Gavin Lux fired a chopper to first base that Cronenworth technically caught. The ball landed directly in Cronenworth's glove, but sadly, it did not stop the ball. It ripped through the webbing, converting an inning-ending double play into a late rally for the Dodgers.
As they say, baseball is a game of inches. A few inches one way or the other, and this game looks quite different. But that's why both teams have 161 more games to play. Eventually, those inches will benefit the Padres.
As the saying goes in baseball, there is always tomorrow.
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