Clayton Kershaw wasn’t on the mound for an Opening Day start for the first time since 2010, but the Los Angeles Dodgers hardly missed a beat as they routed Zack Greinke and the Arizona Diamondbacks, 12-5.
Hyun-Jin Ryu proved to be a more-than-worthy replacement, as he recorded eight strikeouts and held the Diamondbacks to just one run over six efficient innings. Ryu at one point retired 13 batters in a row and had only one ball hit out of the infield (fly out to shallow right field).
His bid for a shutout ended when Adam Jones clubbed a solo home run with one out in the sixth. Eduardo Escobar followed with a double but Ryu settled back in to retire the next two batters faced to end the inning.
The Dodgers provided Ryu with run support from the early going, as Joc Pederson began what was a monster day as the leadoff hitter with a double in the first inning. Pederson hit a two-run homer in the second inning and in the sixth clubbed his second home run of the day.
That was part of the Dodgers setting an MLB record with eight home runs on Opening Day. That previously belonged to the Chicago White Sox (2018) and New York Mets (1988) who both hit six home runs in an Opening Day game.
Additionally, the eight homers also tied a Dodgers franchise record for most in any game. It was previously set in 2002 when Shawn Green singlehandedly hit four in a historic performance.
Zack Greinke was chased with two outs in the fourth inning, having allowed seven runs on seven hits, including four home runs.
Kiké Hernandez and Austin Barnes went back-to-back in the fourth, and Corey Seager added a third home run in the inning. Max Muncy homered in the seventh, and Bellinger and Hernandez then went back-to-back in that inning.
Pederson and Hernandez joined Roy Campanella, Raul Mondesi and Yasmani Grandal as Dodgers with a multi-home run game on Opening Day.
