It lacked the flash and flare that fans had envisioned during a blockbuster, $1.2 billion offseason.
But in the first game of the Dodgers 2024 season, the team trudged its way to an opening-day, come-from-behind win at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, defeating the San Diego Padres 5-2 thanks to a four-run rally in the top of the eighth inning.
After squandering a string of early-game scoring chances, and threatening to spoil the club debuts of Shohei Ohtani (who had two hits, an RBI and a steal) and Tyler Glasnow (who gave up two runs in five innings) in the first South Korean regular season game in MLB history, the Dodgers flipped the script with a rather understated sequence of events.
Trailing by one with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth, they tied the score 2-2 on a Kiké Hernández sacrifice fly.
Read more: Hernández: These Dodgers could be historic, or another October disaster in the making
In the next at-bat, they took their first lead when a two-hopper from Gavin Lux went through — literally — the webbing of the glove of Padres first baseman Jake Cronenworth.
Mookie Betts and Ohtani sealed the game from there with two softly hit singles, the Dodgers’ first hits of the game with runners in scoring position (they were 0 for 8 before then).
Even though the inning ended on a base-running mistake by Ohtani, who misread a flyout and failed to retag second base before returning to first, it was enough to send the Dodgers to their third straight season opening victory.
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
