Doing what they do best, the Los Angeles Dodgers took their home opener over the Detroit
Tigers on the strength of three homeruns that produced five runs in total. That would be
just enough to give the 5-4 victory over the Tigers.
In the second inning Dodger Utility man Tommy Edman went yard on last year’s American
League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal giving the Dodgers the early lead.
But the scrappy Tigers clawed their way back into the game. When Blake Snell, also a
former Cy Young winner, bounced a wild pitch in front of home plate, Detroit scored the
game tying run.
In the fifth inning Manuel Margot hit a sacrifice fly that scored Gleyber Torres from third
base and put the Tigers ahead for the first, (and last), time in the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, with Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts on the bases, Teoscar
Hernandez blasted a three-run homer that put the Dodgers back in the lead for good.
Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson homered to cut the Tigers’ deficit to 4-3 in the seventh, but
Ohtani quickly returned the favor as he deposited his second homerun of the year over the
left field fence in the next half of the inning. As it turned out, that was a much-needed
insurance for the Dodgers.
The Tigers again got within a run in the eighth on Kerry Carpenter’s sacrifice fly off new
Dodger Reliever Tanner Scott. But that would be the last run they put on the board.
Taking the hill in the ninth inning, Dodger closer Blake Treinen put a little scare into the
crowd as he put two runners on base before he retired Trey Sweeney and Colt Keith for
the save.
Snell picked up his first win for the Dodgers while Skubal suffered the defeat.
The Dodgers will face the Tigers two more times, Friday and Saturday, over the first
weekend of Major League Baseball action.
By William Trillo
