Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani smiles during pregame player introductions before a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani hit a home run in the seventh inning to provide a key insurance run. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The 2025 Dodgers looked a lot like the 2024 Dodgers on Thursday.
Just with gold lettering adorning their World Series championship jerseys.
In a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers in their home opener, this year’s Dodgers produced all the same hallmarks of last season’s title-winning club.
Timely offense, epitomized by Teoscar Hernández’s go-ahead, three-run home run in the fifth inning off reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, and Shohei Ohtani’s solo blast in the seventh for a key insurance run.
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Starting pitching that was just good enough, with two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell limiting damage in a five-inning, two-run debut with the team.
And effective relief from the bullpen, which nursed a narrow lead to the finish line for a home-opening win and 3-0 start to the Dodgers’ championship defense.
“You never know how the outcomes are going to be until you play,” manager Dave Roberts said, acknowledging the potential distractions surrounding the Dodgers’ bid to repeat as champions. “But we still found a way to win a ballgame. That’s a good thing.”
Thursday always was going to be more about what the Dodgers’ accomplished in 2024 than how they’re embarking upon 2025.
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Over a 30-minute pregame ceremony, the team raised a “2024 World Champions” banner up the center-field flagpole, unveiled a new “2024” sign next to their other seven World Series plaques in right field, and was delivered the Commissioner’s Trophy by Ice Cube — via a Dodger blue Chevrolet Bel-Air the hip-hop artist drove across the warning track.
To commemorate their title, the Dodgers also wore special gold-trimmed jerseys and caps, just as they will again Friday when they are presented their World Series rings.
“Every day is special in its own right,” Roberts said, “but having these gold hats and uniforms, we nailed it.”
If all that wasn’t enough, the ceremonial first pitch came with a fitting twist. Kirk Gibson, the walk-off hero of the club’s 1988 World Series, took the mound to throw the ball. Freddie Freeman, the walk-off hero of last year’s Fall Classic against the New York Yankees, squatted behind the plate to catch it.
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The accompanying roar…