Dodgers rout Dbacks to kick off pursuit of third-straight World Series

It took the Dodgers four innings to knock the rust off.

Then, the two-time defending World Series champions finally started looking like themselves.

In an 8-2 Opening Day win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, the Dodgers began their season exactly as advertised –– riding a relentlessly deep lineup and dominant starting pitching performance to a season-opening rout in front of 53,712 at Dodger Stadium.

The pursuit of a third-straight title couldn’t have started any better.

Even after falling behind early on Geraldo Perdomo’s two-run homer in the fourth, then entering the bottom of the fifth without a hit since Shohei Ohtani’s single to lead off the game, the Dodgers couldn’t be stopped once their offense got into gear.

The team exploded for four runs in the fifth, highlighted by Andy Pages’ go-ahead three-run home run off Arizona starter Zac Gallen.

They managed another four-spot in the seventh, when Kyle Tucker hit an RBI double in the gap for his first Dodgers hit, Mookie Betts drove him home with an RBI single up the middle, and Will Smith delivered the knockout blow with a two-run blast to left-center. 

That was more than enough on a night Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched six strong innings, striking out six batters and retiring the final nine he faced after Perdomo’s home run.

It also gave some instant validation to the team’s belief that this could be the best roster they’ve ever assembled.

“As far as the talent, the complete buy-in, this team is,” manager Dave Roberts said before first pitch. “But like I’ve said every single year, we’ve still got to go out there and play.”

One game in, they’re already playing well.

What it means

The way these Dodgers are constructed, with a lineup that includes six combined MVP awards and 33 All-Star appearances, there’s no one superstar that needs to shoulder the load.

Thursday was a quick reminder why.

After all, it was the bottom of the lineup that provided the biggest turning point, with Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández leading off the fifth with back-to-back singles before Pages’ blast. 

Ohtani didn’t have another hit after his leadoff single, yet scored a key insurance run on Tucker’s double after getting hit by a pitch.

And by the end of the night, the club had racked up more walks (five) than strikeouts (four), applying constant pressure on an Arizona pitching staff that –– like most the Dodgers are likely to face this year –– eventually cracked under the strain.

Who’s hot

Pages was Roberts’ so-called “pick to click” coming into the season, with the manager believing more in the young slugger’s 27-homer regular season last year than his .078 batting average in the playoffs.

On Thursday, Pages made a strong first impression with a 2-for-4, three-RBI display.

Not only did he hit the key home run, getting to a two-strike curveball from Gallen that was launched to left-field pavilion, but he also made two impressive catches in center field: The first, on a deep fly ball to the left-center field gap; then, a diving effort on a shallow flare in right-center that helped Blake Treinen –– pitching the only high-leverage relief inning of the game with a two-run lead in the seventh –– get throught a scoreless frame.

Who’s not

Right now? Nobody. Freddie Freeman was the only Dodgers player without a hit on Thursday. But even he drew a key walk that helped set up an RBI single from Smith following Pages’ homer in the fifth. He also saved a run defensively, getting Yamamoto out of a jam in the third by snagging a high line drive at first base and turning an inning-ending double-play.

Up next

The Dodgers and Dbacks will be back at it on Friday night. Emmet Sheehan will start for the Dodgers, while Ryne Nelson will go for Arizona.

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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com