Dodgers Opening Day Recap April 6th, 2015

Opening Day Recap 4/6/15:

The sun was shining, the intoxicating aroma of freshly mowed grass filled the air, and Dodgers’ baseball was back for Angelinos to enjoy. Yesterday was Opening Day for the Los Angeles Dodgers and after the game you could already tell this team was different than last year’s. The reigning National League MVP and Cy Young Award winner, Clayton Kershaw, took the mound to nobody’s surprise, and to some fans’ surprise, he wasn’t his sharpest. After giving up a run in the opening frame, Kershaw was dominant up until the top of the 5^th inning where he gave up another two runs. Of course to Clayton Kershaw’s standards, giving up three runs and six hits in six innings is a bad game but we can all expect him to bounce back in his next outing.

Where I believe we should all focus on is the Dodgers’ clutch hitting by the new additions to the team and the bullpen that had a bit of a face-lift during the off-season. One of the Dodgers’ biggest weaknesses last year was their inability to produce runs late in the game. That weakness was null and void yesterday as our boys in blue scored 4 runs from the 7^th inning on to rally to win their first game of the 2015 season. Said runs came from newly acquired Howie Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins and from a not so new member, Adrian Gonzalez. As the Dodgers were down 3-2 in the 7^th inning, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and second baseman Howie Kendrick hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game. In the bottom of the 8^th inning with the game still tied, Joc Pederson worked the count and got on board with a walk and Andre Ethier moved Pederson over and got himself aboard with an error by Padres’ relief pitcher, Shawn Kelley. Leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins stepped to the plate with one out and was able to work a full count, and then unloaded a go-ahead three-run bomb to right field that would give the Dodgers a 6-3 lead.

Chris Hatcher, who earned the closer spot after his outstanding Spring Training campaign, would close out the game after getting Yoder Alonso to hit into a double play and would go on to strikeout Alexi Amarista. Along with Hatcher, the Dodgers’ bullpen was superior to the Padres’ as Yimi Garcia and Joel Peralta were able to hold the Padres to just one run after the 6^th inning. Yimi Garcia struck out two in the 7^th inning, and newly acquired Joel Peralta was able to give up just one hit but did not allow any runs and was awarded the win.

After just one game this Dodgers squad is already unlike last year’s. They were able to score runs in clutch moments, unlike last year’s team, and their bullpen did not waver, also unlike last year’s team. Only time will tell if the 2015 Dodgers will be able to continue to provide late-inning offense and if their bullpen can do what they’re supposed to do. Meanwhile, this Dodger fan will just daydream of seeing this year’s Dodgers team raising their 7^th World Series trophy.