Jim Cella
LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger received all the preseason attention about possible 2020 MVP campaigns but it was Kiké Hernández who stole the show on opening day. Hernández went 4-for-5 with 5 RBI and a home run in the Dodgers’ 8-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.
While the final score was a lopsided victory for the Dodgers, it wasn’t until seventh inning when Los Angeles was able to break away from the new-look Giants. The Dodgers scored seven times in the seventh and eighth innings to break open a 1-1 deadlock and pull away from San Francisco.
The Dodgers plated five runs in the seventh on three hits – including Betts’ first base knock in Dodger blue. He started the 1-out rally by lining a single to left field. He then advanced to third on a double off the bat of Bellinger and would score on a Justin Turner fielder’s choice.
Bellinger moved to third on the fielder’s choice and got caught in a run down when Corey Seager hit a ground ball back to pitcher Giants’ relief pitcher Tyler Rogers but Bellinger stayed alive long enough for Turner to advance all the way to third. Turner would then score on the next at-bat when Hernández laced a single to right field to post his third RBI of the game.
Hernández would then account for both runs in the eighth when he hit the Dodgers’ first home run of the year. He curled a 2-out pitch down the left field line that stayed just inside the foul pole. Hernández’ 67th career long ball plated Turner who had posted a 1-out double to right field.
In the end, the Dodgers outhit the Giants 11-8 in the game and had five extra base hits on the night. Hernandez was the only Los Angeles player with more than one hit in the game. The Dodgers had seven other players with one hit in the opener. The only starter who didn’t have a base hit on the night was catcher Austin Barnes.
Dustin May earned the start on the hill after Clayton Kershaw was put on the injured list due to a sore back. May, who wasn’t on the team’s original 30-man roster to start the year, went 4.1 innings and allowed only the one earned run. He scattered seven hits and struck out four and had set the Giants down in order in the second and fourth frames.
May would yield to the bullpen as manager Dave Roberts used four pitchers in the final 4.2 innings of play. Caleb Ferguson, Pedro Báez, Adam Kolarek and Brusdar Graterol completely shut down the Giants offense after the fifth inning. The quartet only allowed one hit and had four K’s down the stretch.
Kolarek earned the opening-day win by throwing 1.2 scoreless innings and striking out a pair of batters. The win was the ninth of his career and third as a Dodger.
Graterol made his debut in Dodger blue after being sent over in a trade from the Minnesota Twins which included Kenta Maeda. Graterol gave up a leadoff single to Alex Dickerson but then got Hunter Pence to ground into a 1-4-3 double play and finished the game with a ground out to third base.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
IT’S 1981 ALL OVER AGAIN: Dustin May became the first Dodger pitcher to make an opening day start since Fernando Valenzuela accomplished the feat in 1981. The two rookie starts are also eerily similar because neither May nor Valenzuela were scheduled for the star. Both pitchers were inserted into the lineup in the last minute due to injuries by a left-handed pitcher. May replaced future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw while Valenzuela got the nod after Jerry Reuss went down with an injury.
OPENING-DAY SUCCESS: The Dodgers have now won nine of their last 10 opening-day match-ups. The only loss during that stretch came in a 1-0 nail-biter against the Giants at home in 2018. Los Angeles is now 69-62-4 in their 135 opening-day contests.
CAN HE START THE OPENER IN 2021 AS WELL?: Hernández was making his third straight opening-day start for the Dodgers and the last two have been memorable. Last year he went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and a pair of home runs in the 12-5 win over Arizona. He is now 6-for-8 (.750) with 8 RBI and three longs balls in the last two opening-day wins for LA.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Last year on opening day the Dodgers hammered out a team-record eight home runs in a 12-5 runaway over the Arizona Diamondbacks. On Thursday, the Dodgers also posted a 7-run victory but had only one long ball.
ON DECK: The two teams will play the second game of their opening 4-game series on Friday, July 24 with first pitch being slated for 6:40 p.m. Ross Stripling is the probable starter for the Dodgers and Tyler Anderson is the Giants probable starter.
