LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers’ home opener Thursday will return to the splendor of UV rays and sunglasses in a tradition that had lost its way in recent years.
Three times in the past four seasons the Dodgers played their home opener at night, including the past two seasons, with the sun now set to shine Thursday upon at least three new players taking part in their first home game amid a spring atmosphere like no other.
Technically, the Dodgers already have played a home game, when they faced the San Diego Padres last Thursday in Seoul, South Korea. But that one was lost, literally and figuratively, in the cover of night.
This Thursday, Tyler Glasnow will return to his Southern California roots to throw the game’s first pitch, and what is anticipated to be many more as he takes over the lead spot in the starting rotation. Teoscar Hernandez, signed to round out the outfield with Mookie Betts’ move to the infield, also is expected to be in the lineup.
Then there is Shohei Ohtani, the biggest offseason prize of them all, who could use a return to normalcy as he settles into a new home in the designated-hitter role.
Ohtani revealed some details this week of how he was a victim of financial fraud perpetrated by his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, with that money reportedly funneled to a Southern California bookmaker. Ohtani denied his involvement in sports betting.
If the Freeway Series was any indication, fans are ready to show their support, with plenty of cheers for the superstar at Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium. His former home ballpark played a tribute video before his first at-bat Wednesday and a standing ovation from Angels and Dodgers fans ensued.
What to expect from the new trio in the home opener is difficult to predict. With a quick look to the past, here is a rundown of recent home openers and how some current Dodgers fared in their debut before the home faithful:
James Outman (2023)
Named the starting center fielder in his rookie season, Outman had a brief taste of the major leagues in 2022, playing in four late-season games with 16 plate appearances. But those games were all on the road.
His first home game was in the home opener last season and, after a third-inning walk and a fourth-inning strikeout, Outman hit a two-run home run to left-center on a full-count pitch from the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Cole Sluser. The Dodgers won 8-2.
“I couldn’t stand still when they were doing all the (pregame) announcements, but once the game started, I settled in,” Outman said.
Freddie Freeman (2022)
Talk about making an early impression. In his Dodgers home debut, Freeman singled in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds’ Luis Cessa and scored the first run of the season at home on a single by Justin Turner.
Freeman went 2 for 5 as the Dodgers finished off a 9-3 victory in another night opener.
Freeman will be playing in his first Dodgers daytime opener as a member of the home team Thursday.
Gavin Lux (2021)
Lux played in 42 games over the previous two seasons but was on the Opening Day roster for the first time in 2021. The season opener was played at Colorado, with Lux collecting an RBI among his two hits.
The home opener came in the eighth game of the season, with Lux batting sixth as the second baseman and going 0 for 3 on a day the Dodgers squeaked out a 1-0 victory over the Washington Nationals behind six solid innings from Walker Buehler and a sixth-inning home run from Justin Turner.
The 2021 home opener was the only one of the previous four that was played in daylight.
Will Smith (2021)
A full-time member of the roster by 2020, after making his major-league debut in 2019, Smith didn’t play in his first home opener until 2021 when he had the same fate as Lux by going 0-for-3 in a pitcher’s duel against the Nationals.
Smith made his mark that day by guiding Buehler, Victor Gonzalez, Blake Treinen and Corey Knebel to the shutout on eight Nationals hits, just one of which went for extra bases.
Smith would go on to hit a career-best 25 home runs that season as he began to establish himself as the rare catcher who is a solid on defense and as well as a middle-of-the-order threat.
Mookie Betts (2020)
The home Dodgers debut of the 2018 American League MVP came amid little pomp and circumstance as it was played in July and at night during the pandemic-shortened season, with no fans in the stands. He had a hit and a run scored in an 8-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Betts ended up missing the 2021 home opener with an injury and didn’t get his first Dodgers home opener in front of fans until 2022 when he went 2 for 5 with an RBI.
Betts would later help the Dodgers to the World Series title in 2020, batting .296 with an .871 OPS in 18 postseason games, with two home runs and eight RBIs to go along with elite outfield defense.
Max Muncy (2019)
Seemingly out of nowhere, Muncy put together a strong spring and won the Dodgers’ starting first base job in 2019 as he went on to solidify himself as a left-handed power threat with 35 home runs that season and a 15th-place finish in NL MVP voting.
In the home opener, Muncy was trusted with the cleanup spot and he responded with a seventh-inning home run as the Dodgers rolled past the Diamondbacks 12-5. He also had an RBI groundout in the first inning for the first run at home of the season.
That game also is known for two home runs from both Joc Pederson and Kiké Hernandez, as the Dodgers went deep eight times that day. It set the major-league record for home runs in a season opener and tied the franchise record for homers in any game.
Chris Taylor (2018)
After establishing himself as a utility-man supreme in 2017, Taylor got the start in center field during the 2018 home opener against the San Francisco Giants but did not have a hit out of the leadoff spot as the Dodgers dropped a 1-0 decision.
Taylor not only played 50 games in center field and 24 games in left that season, he spent 81 games at shortstop to prove himself invaluable, leading to his ninth season with the club in 2024.
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Clayton Kershaw (2010)
The player most synonymous with Dodger Stadium home openers, Kershaw hasn’t participated in one since 2018 but had long left his mark on them by that point. In that 2018 outing, he gave up one run over six innings but received no run support in a 1-0 loss.
His most famous appearance in a home opener came when he authored his own shutout against the Giants. In a 4-0 victory at home in 2013, Kershaw allowed just four hits in a complete game and broke open a scoreless tie in the eighth inning with a home run.
Kershaw’s first home opener came in 2010 at age 22, when he gave up two runs on three hits over 5 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and earned the win in a 9-5 victory over the Diamondbacks.
