Dodgers open defense of back-to-back World Series titles with a win
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers opened the 2026 season where they left off. With a win.
The two-time World Series champions opened their bid for a three-peat with an 8-2 comeback victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night after a pregame celebration.
Opening the season at home for the first time after being in Asia in 2024 and ’25, the Dodgers trotted out their World Series trophies from those years, carried by Miguel Rojas and Freddie Freeman who arrived via a convertible driven by actor Will Ferrell.
Shohei Ohtani caught a ceremonial first pitch from Magic Johnson, part of the team’s ownership that hoisted a blue-and-white World Series flag in center field.
“We definitely enjoy it,” shortstop Mookie Betts said, “but we do a really good job of focusing on the task at hand when we have a ballgame to play.”
The Dodgers debuted their new championship gold jerseys and caps. Gold trim outlines the team name in script on the front. The cap has a gold LA logo in between two stars representing their eighth and ninth world championships and a solid gold brim. It has a World Series champion patch on the right side.
Earlier, manager Dave Roberts spotted the trophies outside the clubhouse, but kept on walking.
No team has won three championships in a row since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000.
“When I start thinking about stuff like that I get nervous,” Roberts said.
The first day of the season included Ohtani gifting his teammates with Grand Seiko watches, which typically range in price from $2,000 to $10,000, along with a note about a potential three-peat. The gifts are a tradition the Japanese superstar started when he joined the Dodgers in 2024.
“He is just very generous, he’s very thoughtful, and we’re all very grateful,” said Roberts, who also received a watch.
Ohtani was 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk while getting hit by a pitch. World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto got the victory on the mound. Kyle Tucker had a hit and an RBI in his Dodgers debut after signing a $240 million deal in the offseason. Andy Pages hit a go-ahead three-run homer. Reliever Tanner Scott, who endured a rocky 2025 season, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close it out in front of a sellout crowd of 53,712.
“It was a lot of fun to see the fans come out and support us and it was a good job by us getting them the win,” Tucker said.
Roberts is putting these Dodgers ahead of his 2021 club that won 106 games.
“This team, as far as the talent, the complete buy-in, is the best team,” he said. “I just feel really confident with this team.”
Could the Dodgers reach 116 wins, which would match the 2001 Seattle Mariners and 1906 Chicago Cubs?
“It’s possible,” Roberts said, “but again, that’s not our ultimate goal. It’s certainly not our North Star.”
The hoopla continues Friday when the Dodgers receive their World Series rings.
Then Roberts expects his team to get down to business.
“Hopefully in the clubhouse it’s just kind of staying present and just try to win a game that night,” Roberts said.
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