The Dodgers had pregame ceremonies before each of their first three games of the season, and even trailed 2-0 to the Arizona Diamondbacks in each game. But they managed to win all three, earning a sweep to open 2026.

Will Smith caught all three games of the opening weekend, including talking his way into the lineup on Saturday, which was both his birthday and his bobblehead night. The choice proved a winner, as Smith’s two-run home run won the game, and was his second home run of the series.

This was an extremely close call, but we’ll go with Tyler Glasnow by a hair over Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Both starters allowed two runs and struck out six in six innings, while allowing five runners to reach base. Yamamoto retired his final nine batters faced, and Glasnow retired 10 of his last 11. Glasnow gets the slight edge because he didn’t allow a home run, while a two-run shot accounted for all the scoring against Yamamoto.

Honorable mention goes to the bullpen, which totaled 11 2/3 scoreless innings over three games, though two inherited runners did score on Friday.

2-1 record
16 runs scored (5.33 per game)
8 runs scored (2.67 per game)
.780 pythagorean win percentage

Bottoms up: Alex Freeland and Miguel Rojas have a combined five hits in 10 at-bats so far this season, and the bottom three slots in the lineup so far have a .767 OPS.

“Pitchers spend so much energy into navigating the first five or six hitters, and there’s a cost to that. Then it sort of bleeds into the bottom part of the order, where, you know, most of those guys could be anywhere in the middle of the order on another team, but it’s just tough to navigate,” manager Dave Roberts said Thursday. “I think the word to say is relentless. It’s a relentless lineup.”

Trumpet time: Opening day was a blowout win for the Dodgers, while the last two were one-run victories, closed out by Edwin Díaz in his first two games with the team. In both cases, his entrance song ‘Narco’ was accompanied with live trumpet playing at Dodger Stadium by musician Tatiana Tate. “She needs to be there every night,” Roberts quipped after Saturday’s win. “She’s legit, she’s legit.”

Hug it out: Freddie Freeman was on first base with two outs in the second inning on Saturday, when Santiago Espinal grounded a ball to Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte. Rather than throw to first base, Marte waited for Freeman, who realized he was a dead duck, to come to him. They ended up embracing in the baseline.

“I didn’t think I’d ever be a part of a hug-out on baseball field,” Freeman said. “I’m very much a hugger, I think you guys all know that. Emotional man over here.”

Tuesday: Jake Cousins was signed to a one-year, $950,000 contract. Bobby Miller landed on the 60-day injured list.

Wednesday: Pitchers Blake Snell, Gavin Stone, Landon Knack, Brock Stewart, Brusdar Graterol, and Cousins were placed on the 15-day IL. Tommy Edman went on the 10-day IL.

Wednesday: Opening day roster was announced.

Week 1 battingPlayerGPARH2BHRRBIBA/OBP/SLGFreeland2422111500/.500/1.500Smith31123025.273/.273/.818Rojas2613000.500/.500/.500Betts31332014.182/.308/.455Muncy3811000.200/.500/.200Pages31012013.200/.200/.500Freeman31303101.250/.308/.333Ohtani31321000.125/.462/.125Tucker31332102.182/.308/.273Hernández31011000.100/.100/.100Espinal1200000.000/.000/.000Totals310316203516.222/.320/.422

Kyle Tucker also stole two bases

Week 1 pitchingPitcherGRecordIPHRBBSOERAWHIPGlasnow10-0642163.000.833Yamamoto11-0652063.000.833Sheehan10-03.1542610.802.100Starters31-015.11483184.701.109Díaz22 saves200120.000.500Klein21-0210020.000.500Vesia20-0210000.000.500Dreyer10-01.210010.000.600Scott20-01.100010.000.000Henriquez11-0100010.000.000Treinen10-0110010.001.000Casparius10-00.210110.003.000Bullpen32-0, 2 Sv11.250290.000.600Totals33-0271985272.670.889

The first interleague series of the year for the Dodgers starts Monday with the Cleveland Guardians in town. Thursday is a travel day, followed by a weekend series in Washington D.C. against the Nationals.

Dodgers Week 2 scheduleM, 3/30Tu, 3/31W, 4-1Th, 4/2F, 4/3Sa, 4/4Su, 4/5GuardiansGuardiansGuardiansOFFat Natsat Natsat Nats7:10p7:10p5:20p10:05a1:05p10:35aSasakiOhtaniYamamotoSheehanGlasnowSasakiMessick*TBAWilliamsMikolasIrvinGriffin*SNLASNLASNLASNLASNLASNLA