by Cary Osborne
The views inside Dodger Stadium can be breathtaking.
They were even better on Thursday.
Beyond a baby blue wall, an American flag waved next to a brand new flag with the year 2024 separating the words “Los Angeles Dodgers” and “World Champions.” The rolling green hills in the background gave it all some contrast.
It also set the scene for a show.
From players strolling in from center field for pregame introductions to Ice Cube rolling in a low rider with the World Series championship trophy in his passenger seat, to two October heroes — Freddie Freeman and Kirk Gibson — separated by 36 Octobers making a ceremonial first pitch, to three Dodger players watching their blastoffs — it all happened as scripted.
The three Dodger home runs — Tommy Edman in the second inning, Teoscar Hernández in the fifth inning and Shohei Ohtani in the seventh inning — represented the Dodger offense in a 5–4 victory for the return of the World Series champions at Dodger Stadium.
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“It’s always great (to perform), especially here in front of our fans,” Hernández said. “I prepare myself to give the best show that I can give to the fans so they can enjoy the game.”
It was certainly audience-focused.
Ice Cube’s appearance and Gibson (who hit the legendary 1988 World Series Game 1 walk-off home run) throwing the ceremonial first pitch to Freeman (who hit the legendary 2024 World Series Game 1 walk-off home run) were well-kept secrets. The surprise was clear by the exuberant reaction to both moments.
Then it was onto baseball.
Blake Snell, the two-time Cy Young Award winner who signed with the Dodgers in the offseason, wasn’t at his sharpest. He went five innings, allowed five hits, walked four and allowed two runs — including one on a wild pitch.
But he saw the positives — limiting the Tigers to no hits in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position and getting his feet wet in a Dodger uniform.
Snell had talked in the past about the different atmosphere at Dodger Stadium. He experienced it for the first time wearing the home uniform.
“Just feeling the energy, how much the fans love the team, just getting ready and how encouraging they were before the start, how much they just showed love to me — that’s pretty cool,” Snell said.
Hernández’s three-run blast was critical. The Dodgers trailed 2–1 and climbing uphill against reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
Skubal — also the AL’s triple crown winner (leading the league in ERA, strikeouts and wins) — threw his four-seam fastball 941 times last season and allowed three home runs off the pitch.
Hernández got a hold of one in the middle of the plate in his second at-bat against him.
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“I think I got lucky on that one,” Hernández said.
Edman, the National League Championship Series MVP, got him in the second inning on a middle-of-the-plate sinker.
It almost seemed like there was one more thing to make the fans go home happy — Ohtani.
Ohtani, who created special memories throughout 2024 in his first year as a Dodger also showed a flair for the dramatic. His homer on Thursday now adds to a history of well-timed moments.
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Well, maybe there were two things that would make the fans go happy — a win.
They got that, too.
The Dodgers put on a show in their 2025 home opener was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.