LOS ANGELES -- Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman hit home runs, Blake Snell went five strong innings and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers capped a day of celebration with a 5-4 victory over the visiting Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
Ohtani hit a solo home run in the seventh inning off Brenan Hanifee, providing the Dodgers with some comfort late in the game. He finished the game with two hits, including a home run and a single.
In his Dodgers debut, the free-agent addition Snell (1-0) gave up two runs on five hits over five innings with two strikeouts. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was able to work around four walks. Snell talked about his first time pitching at Dodger Stadium.
"I loved it. I'm excited for more of it. Especially when I get better and better," Snell said. "It was cool just feeling the energy and how much the fans love the team. How much they showed loved to me that was pretty cool."
Right-hander Ben Casparius entered the game and pitched a shutout inning, during which he allowed one hit and one walk. He threw 26 pitches in the sixth inning without giving up any runs. Left-handers Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott also pitched, with each allowing one run. Vesia, however, excelled after getting into trouble by striking out all three batters he faced in his inning. Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season.
Ohtani hit his second home run in the third game of the season as the Dodgers played at home for the first time since a victory in Game 2 of the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees.
TEO KNEW. pic.twitter.com/CKyw4vhGkh
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 28, 2025
In his first start since winning the American League Cy Young Award last season, Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal (0-1) gave up four runs on six hits over five innings with a walk and two strikeouts. Spencer Torkelson hit a home run with four walks for Detroit, while Manuel Margot had a sacrifice fly in his Detroit debut.
Edman, the MVP of the NLCS last season, gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the second inning with his homer. The Tigers tied the game when Torkelson scored in the fourth on a Snell wild pitch. Margot’s sacrifice fly put Detroit up 2-1 in the fifth.
The Dodgers answered in the bottom of the fifth, getting a single from Andy Pages and a walk from Mookie Betts. Hernandez hit a two-out, first-pitch fastball from Skubal over the wall in center field for a 4-2 Los Angeles lead.
Teoscar Hernández talks about his home run and the Dodgers winning their home opener. pic.twitter.com/rcu8aqbnrF
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Torkelson’s home run came in the top of the seventh before Ohtani responded with his homer in the bottom of the inning. Kerry Carpenter’s sacrifice fly pulled Detroit within a run in the eighth.
The Tigers put two aboard with one out in the ninth before Treinen finished off the victory by striking out Trey Sweeney, then Colt Keith fouled out to first base.
The Tigers faced the Dodgers to kick off the season for the first time in franchise history, while Los Angeles opened its home schedule against an American League team for the first time. The Dodgers improved their record to 3-0 after starting the season with two victories over the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo last week. Former Dodger Jack Flaherty, who was traded from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline, won a World Series with Los Angeles before signing back with the Tigers as a free agent.
Kike Hernandez was removed from the game after having difficulty keeping food down and experiencing vomiting, according to Dave Roberts. The team is hopeful that Hernandez is not dealing with the same issue that Mookie Betts faced, but Roberts mentioned that he isn't concerned about any illness spreading among the players. There is currently no update on Hernandez's status moving forward.
