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Dodgers rout Padres in home opener, 14-3

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Yasmani Grandal homered twice, Corey Seager had a three-run homer and Joc Pederson had five RBIs (including a grand slam). Clayton Kershaw allowed only two hits in seven innings.

Dodgers opening day without Vin Scully is different for team and former announcer

Fans stand for the national anthem during Opening Day at Dodger Stadium.
Fans stand for the national anthem during Opening Day at Dodger Stadium.
(Christina House / For The Times)

As usual, an afternoon of promise was framed with a bevy of memories, the Dodgers’ 60th opening day in Los Angeles marked by heroes present and missing.

The ceremonial first pitches were thrown by former manager Tom Lasorda and former Coliseum hitting hero Wally Moon, and there was a clear message in their aging and regal presence: Between them, they own all five Los Angeles Dodgers world championship rings.

Shortly before their pitches, the first video was narrated by the recently retired Vin Scully, missing his first season after 67 years but still taking the time to offer an homage to opening day.

It was strange that Scully was absent from the booth and the media room, his distinctive voice available only through scoreboard video presentations. It was so strange that during the fifth inning, with the Dodgers leading 9-1, I sneaked away to the back of the press box to call him on his cellphone.

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Joe Davis makes his debut replacing Vin Scully as Dodgers announcer

Joe Davis at his first regular-season Dodgers game as part of the announcing team, essentially replacing Vin Scully.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)

Joe Davis did not sleep through the night. He got his rest here and there, roused himself from bed, dressed in a Dodgers-blue blazer, and drove to Dodger Stadium to replace a legend.

Never has Los Angeles known an opening day without Vin Scully. That sentence remains present tense, at least for this year. Scully was not in the broadcast booth Monday. He was not even on the premises, and yet he was everywhere.

When Scully left the press box last year, he had to part a sea of adoring fans shouting his name and snapping photos on their phones. When Davis left the Vin Scully Press Box on Monday morning, the path was clear.

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Dodgers deliver a message in opening day win

Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson celebrates his grand slam with Manager Dave Roberts.
Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson celebrates his grand slam with Manager Dave Roberts.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

One hundred and sixty three days ago, the Dodgers huddled inside the visitor’s clubhouse at Wrigley Field, commiserating over their playoff defeat to the Cubs and pledging to return to that stage in 2017. The front office shelled out nearly $200 million in order to keep the group together. Throughout a mostly placid spring, the group exuded the quiet confidence of a club that knows the depth of its talent.

On the first day of their 60th season in Los Angeles, the Dodgers displayed the wealth of their organizational capability, trouncing the overmatched Padres in a 14-3 victory. The team remains undefeated in Clayton Kershaw’s seven opening day starts, although on this day, Kershaw acted as a supporting player to an offensive outbreak.

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Opening day notes: Adrian Gonzalez makes adjustments

Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Joc Pederson.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)

Adrian Gonzalez extended his right arm, displaying a black band about an inch under his elbow.

This is what tempered the symptoms of the tendinitis in his elbow. This is what allowed him to play Monday more or less pain-free.

“With the pressure, I almost feel close to 100%,” he said. “When I don’t have pressure on it, check swings will really hurt me.”

He was relieved. The Dodgers should have been too.

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Dodgers rout Padres, 14-3, in home opener

Dodgers 14, Padres 3 (final): The Dodgers have won their seventh consecutive opening-day game, routing the San Diego Padres back of Clayton Kershaw and a franchise record of four opening-day home runs.

Joc Pederson slugged a grand slam home run in the third inning to break the game open. And Yasmani Grandal followed with the first of his two home runs – one struck left-handed and the other right-handed.

Corey Seager added a home run in the fifth inning.

Kershaw gave up an unearned run in the first inning on a two-base error by Seager, a wild pitch, and a single by Yangervis Solarte through a drawn-in infield.

For a while, it looked as if Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts would have to explain why he called for a drawn-in infield in the first inning against the Padres, because Kershaw retired the next 19 consecutive batters. However, Ryan Schimpf slugged a long home run to right field in the seventh inning to moot any potential no-hitter talk.

Kershaw completed seven innings, giving up the two hits and striking out eight and walking one.

Pederson had five runs batted in.

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Corey Seager struggles with some throwing rust in opener

Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager is congratulated after hitting a three-run homer in the fifth inning.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)

On Monday afternoon, in the first inning of a 14-3 victory over San Diego, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager completed a milestone that most infielders perform in February: He fielded a ground ball in a game.

The delay arose from his injury-interrupted spring, when he missed most of the Cactus League slate after feeling soreness in his oblique. So when Seager cocked his arm to throw to first base, it was the first time he had done so in a competitive setting since October.

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Yasmani Grandal’s homer gives Dodgers a 14-3 lead after eight innings

Dodgers 14, Padres 3 (after eight innings): Yasmani Grandal slugged a two-run home run to left field.

Grandal hit this homer right-handed, off left-hander Jose Torres. Earlier, in the third inning, he homered from the left side.

Grandal is the first Dodger to homer twice on opening day since Raul Mondesi in 1999, and the Dodgers have four home runs in the game – the most in franchise history in an opening-day game.

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Could you throw out the first pitch — and not bounce it?

It’s the start of the 2017 baseball season and our Curiosity Correspondent, Benjamin Crutcher, went to Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching coach Rick Honeycutt to find out how someone who isn’t a pitcher could throw a first pitch at a game and not look te

The Times’ Curiosity Correspondent asked a simple question: How can you throw out the first pitch without looking like a fool? Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt had the answer. (Hint: There’s more to throwing a ball than your arm.)

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Dodgers 12, Padres 3 after top of the eighth

Dodgers 12, Padres 3 (after 7 ½ innings): Dodgers reliever Chris Hatcher allowed as many hits and earned runs in his first inning as Clayton Kershaw did in seven.

The Padres scored on a two-out single by Travis Jankowski, which was followed by a double by Manuel Margot.

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Dodgers lead, 12-2, after seven innings

Dodgers 12, Padres 2 (after seven innings): Craig Stammen became the first Padres relief pitcher to NOT uncork a wild pitch on his first pitch of the game.

However, he did walk the first batter he faced, the free-swinging Yasiel Puig.

After pinch-hitter Chase Utley, who batted for Clayton Kershaw, flied out to left, Andrew Toles singled to right, and Corey Seager followed with another single to right — only Toles failed to see Puig stop at third base and the Padres ended up getting the old 9-3-2-5-3 putout between third and home.

Justin Turner then flied to center for the final out of the inning.

Chris Hatcher is on to pitch the eighth inning for the Dodgers, before what’s left of a sellout crowd that was just announced at 53,701.

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Time to panic? Padres score a run, close gap to 12-2

Dodgers 12, Padres 2 (after 6 1/2 innings): Ryan Schimpf just became Dave Roberts’ favorite Padres player.

Schimpf crushed a Clayton Kershaw pitch that landed several rows up in the right field pavilion at Dodger Stadium.

So why would the Dodgers’ manager be OK with that?

Because it was the Padres second hit — the only one since the first inning when Yangervis Solarte bounced a one-hopper through a drawn-in infield.

Can you imagine the heat Roberts would have taken for blowing an opening-day no hitter by Kershaw because he decided to play the infield in the first inning with the Dodgers facing Jhoulys Chacin and a bunch of inexperienced relief pitchers?

Kershaw had retired 19 in a row before the homer.

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Dodgers held scoreless in sixth, only lead 12-1

Dodgers 12, Padres 1 (through six innings):

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

The Dodgers were retired in order in the bottom of the sixth.

Three up, three down.

A fly ball to center, a strikeout and a ground ball to first.

Reliever Miguel Diaz is the Padres player of the game so far.

The strikeout was by the slumping Joc Pederson, who has five runs batted in, but none since the third inning.

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Corey Seager’s homer gives Dodgers a 12-1 lead

Corey Seager watches as his three-run homerun clears the left center fence.
Corey Seager watches as his three-run homerun clears the left center fence.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Dodgers 12, Padres 1 (through 5 ½ innings): This game could go a while.

The first reliever the Padres used uncorked wild pitches on his first and third pitches.

We now are on reliever No. 2, Miguel Diaz, one of three Rule V players the Padres have on their opening day roster.

Rule V players are those with a certain amount of service time in the minors that can be plucked by other teams – with the condition that they either make your major-league roster or have to offer you back.

Generally, not-so-great teams might have a Rule V player on their roster.

Not three.

Anyways, Diaz’s first pitch also was wild. So we have that to look forward to.

He came on in relief of Christian Bethancourt, who in the bottom of the fifth gave up a one-out double to Yasiel Puig before walking Clayton Kershaw.

After getting Andrew Toles on an infield pop up, Corey Seager unloaded for a home run to left center – the Dodgers’ third homer of the game.

In the top of the sixth, Kershaw retired the Padres in order for the fifth consecutive inning.

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The new Dodger Burger is quite tasty

Tried the new Dodger Burger.

This beast of a hamburger, which can be purchased at the Bud & Burgers stand on the field level down the third-base line, was handed out for free in the back of the press box in the fifth inning. The sandwich/burger/whatever-you-want-to-call-this-thing looks like a Frankenstein experiment: a beef patty smothered in BBQ sauce, topped with four Dodger Dog slices, caramelized onions and a couple of jalapeno poppers.

“That is vile,” said Andy McCullough, our Dodgers beat writer.

Thankfully, the Dodger Burger tasted better than it looked. It was quite good, actually.

I don’t know if you can eat more than one of these, but it’s probably worth trying once.

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Here’s your first look at the new Dodger burger

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Clayton Kershaw has allowed one hit through five innings

Dodgers 9, Padres 1 (through 4 ½ innings): Through five innings, Clayton Kershaw has allowed one hit and one unearned run.

He’s thrown 62 pitches, 44 of them strikes.

He has six strikeouts, including two in the fifth inning – both looking – and one walk.

The only Padres run came in the first inning on a two-base throwing error by Corey Seager, a wild pitch and a single through a drawn-in infield.

Since then, Kershaw has retired 11 in a row.

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The rout is on: Dodgers lead, 9-1, after four innings

Dodgers 9, Padres 1 (after four innings): Andy Green is managing the heck out of the Padres today. It’s just that not much he does is working.

An intentional walk for Adrian Gonzalez in the third contributed to a five-run third inning by the Dodgers.

In the fourth, after Clayton Kershaw led off with a single down the third-base line, Green put a shift on and Andrew Toles hit what would have been a ground ball to short – except there was no player at that position because of the shift.

After Corey Seager struck out looking, Justin Turner crushed a pitch down the third-base line for a double that scored Kershaw.

Green challenged the call, but the replay showed third-base umpire David Rackley got the call right, as well he should have since the ball landed about a foot from where he was standing.

Actually, the replay showed Rackley seemed to pause and even check the mark the ball left where it landed before signaling that it was fair. Indeed, the ball just caught the outside part of the baseline.

That was the last pitch thrown by Padres starter Jhoulys Chacin.

Green turned to Christian Bethancourt, a part-time reliever/part-time catcher, and things didn’t get much better for the Padres.

Bethancourt’s first pitch was a wild pitch that allowed Toles to score.

Toles just beat the throw from catcher Austin Hedges back to Bethancourt at the plate, and Bethancourt was spiked in the process.

He stayed in the game to uncork another wild pitch on his third pitch of his relief appearance, which scored Turner.

After walking Adrian Gonzalez, Bethancourt got Logan Forsythe on a fly ball to right and then Joc Pederson on a drive to left that was caught at the wall.

A few more feet on that one and Pederson would have had two more RBI, which would have given him seven for the day.

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Fans turn out for home opener

Fans celebrate as the Dodgers open their 2017 season against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.

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Not a fan of the new intentional walk rule

Yasiel Puig
(Rob Tringali / Getty Images)

I’m no baseball purist, but I really don’t like this new international walk rule.

Yasiel Puig was intentionally walked in the second inning and Adrian Gonzalez in the third.

Both times, I missed the signal out of the Padres’ bench. Both times, I had no idea what happened.

Part of baseball’s charm is that it doesn’t require your undivided attention at every moment. Make the pitchers throw the four balls. I’m guessing baseball didn’t gain any new fans because of the combined 63 seconds that were saved between the two walks.

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What do Joc Pederson and Raul Mondesi in common?

Raul Mondesi with the Dodgers in 1999.
(Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images)

A couple of notes on the leader for National League MVP, Joc Pederson of the Dodgers:

Through three innings, he has five runs batted in – the first Dodger to have that many RBIs in an opening day game since Raul Modesi, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, in 1999.

Also, Pederson’s grand slam was the Dodgers first on opening day since 2000, when Eric Karros had one against the Montreal Expos.

Pederson’s other RBI came in the second inning on a sacrifice fly.

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Back-to-back

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Pederson’s grand slam, Grandal’s homer give Dodgers 6-1 lead after three

Joc Pederson celebrates after hitting grand slam.
Joc Pederson celebrates after hitting grand slam.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Dodgers 6, Padres 1, end of third inning: It was a very quiet third inning at Dodger Stadium.

Until it wasn’t.

Clayton Kershaw retired the Padres in order in the top of the inning, notching his third strikeout along the way.

Then, in the bottom of the inning, Andrew Toles and Corey Seager sent fly balls to center and left, respectively, within the first three pitches.

Then all hell broke loose.

Justin Turner crushed a line drive to left center that Padres left fielder Travis Jankowski nearly ran down but didn’t. That went for a double.

The next two pitches to Adrian Gonzalez were balls, so Padres manager Andy Green decided to walk him intentionally.

Logan Forsythe was then hit by a pitch, unintentionally.

And Joc Pederson followed that with a drive down the right field line that took about a second and a half to go from his bat into the stands for a grand slam, the second of his career.

Yasmani Grandal then slugged a homer of his own down the right-field line, though it had much more of an arc than Pederson’s blast.

It was the Dodgers’ first back-to-back home runs since Sept. 23, when Pederson and Andre Ethier did it.

So much for that quiet third.

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Op-Ed: Why Dodger Stadium should be the model for all sports venue deals

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Despite getting off to a rocky start — a city referendum, a series of lawsuits, the controversial removal of the residents of Chavez Ravine — Dodger Stadium became an integral part of the city after it opened in 1962, writes Jerald Podair, author of “City of Dreams: Dodger Stadium and the Birth of Modern Los Angeles.”

“Dodger Stadium has also paid hundreds of millions in property taxes to Los Angeles County during its 55 years of operation, money that would not exist without private ownership. These sums dwarf the revenue from rent and shares of ticket sales, concessions and parking fees that would have accrued from a municipally constructed stadium.

“Compare Dodger Stadium to San Francisco’s Candlestick Park or New York’s Shea Stadium, which were constructed at around the same time. Candlestick and Shea were municipal projects, financed through bond debt scheduled to be repaid through rental income from the tenant teams. Both were poorly designed, plagued by cost overruns and indifferently maintained. They took decades to recoup their initial outlays. Neither is worth mentioning in the same breath as Dodger Stadium. Both have been demolished.

“[Dodgers owner Walter] O’Malley’s private financing model, quite clearly, has prevailed.”

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Gonzalez, Forsythe and Pederson team up to pull Dodgers even, 1-1

Dodgers 1, Padres 1, end of second inning: If you had Adrian Gonzalez in a who-gets-the-Dodgers’-first-hit pool, you win.

Gonzalez led off the second inning with a drive to left that took one big hop before settling into the seats.

Logan Forsythe then lined a pitch into right-center for a single, meaning he’s hitting 1.000 as a Dodger. Gonzalez, who isn’t fast and didn’t have a good jump, was held at third, leaving Joc Pederson to drive in the Dodgers’ first run with a fly ball to right.

After Yasmani Grandal struck out, Yasiel Puig was walked intentionally – with a pointed finger; it’s no longer necessary to throw four wide ones – before Clayton Kershaw rolled over a full-count pitch and hit a soft grounder to first base for the final out.

In the top half of the inning, Jhoulyns Chacin showed why – possibly – manager Andy Green has him hitting eighth.

He sent a Clayton Kershaw pitch high and to the warning track in left field, where Andrew Toles caught it for the third out.

Austin Hedges also flew to left for the first out. Kershaw then notched his second strikeout of the game by getting Erick Aybar looking.

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Dodgers trail Padres, 1-0, after one inning

Padres 1, Dodgers 0, end of first inning: The Dodgers went quietly in the bottom half of the first, as Jhoulys Chacin set them down in order.

Andrew Toles flew out to left, Corey Seager grounded to short and Justin Turner was retired on a comebacker to Chacin.

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Padres score first thanks to error and odd choice by Dave Roberts

Dodgers 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez can't handle the throw as Padres Will Myers reaches on an error in the 1st inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The first batter to face Clayton Kershaw this season lasted four pitches.

Manuel Margot struck out on a big, slow curveball.

But right after that came a wrong kind of firsts for the Dodgers: their first error, followed by the first wild pitch, followed by the first questionable decision by Manager Dave Roberts and their opponent’s first run.

Wil Myers hit a ground ball to shortstop Corey Seager, whose throw skipped about 10 feet short of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

Gonzalez came up empty on the scoop, and Myers advanced to second.

He then took third on a wild pitch and scored on another ground ball to short – which slid past Seager for a hit because Roberts inexplicably had his infield playing in the first inning of the first game.

That was either a curious and questionable choice, or Roberts has some serious respect for Padres right-hander Jhoulys Chacin and is thinking he might be good for a shutout today.

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Fan honors Vin Scully

Click image for more photos.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Vin Scully is in the house, sort of

Vin Scully isn’t at Dodger Stadium today, but his voice was.

Over the video board, he spoke about opening day, just before Wally Moon and Tommy Lasorda threw out the ceremonial first pitches.

The real first pitch of the season was delivered — for the seventh consecutive season — by Clayton Kershaw.

It was a fastball that looked a little outside but was called a strike, and we’re underway.

Time of first pitch was 1:10 p.m. and it’s a picture-perfect 67 degrees.

Today’s game is, of course, a sellout.

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Please rise for the national anthem

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The Lakers wish the Dodgers luck

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Sneak preview of Jackie Robinson replica statue

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Rolling out the blue carpet for Dodger home opener

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Vibe at Dodger Stadium set at low frequency

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After enough tequila, you are also a bobblehead

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My, that’s a large cranium you have

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Dave Roberts discusses opening day for the Dodgers

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Opening day preview

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The Dodgers are the team to beat in the NL West this season

The Dodgers have positioned themselves well to win the NL West for the fourth season in a row, finishing ahead of the San Francisco Giants, with Arizona, Colorado and San Diego bringing up the rear.

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What’s the secret to Clayton Kershaw’s opening day dominance? He’s Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Across half a dozen starts on opening day, Clayton Kershaw has thrown 526 pitches in 38 2/3 innings. He has faced 144 batters and struck out 44. He has hit a home run and allowed none. He has pitched a shutout once and allowed a run twice. He has never lost, and neither have the Dodgers.

Yet the moment he remembers most from these six outings involves an incident of physical infirmity, on a day when he had “never felt that bad and tried to pitch before.” It occurred in the season opener in 2012, at San Diego. A stomach virus sapped his strength. He realized the depth of his illness after hitting a double in the third inning.

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Dodgers’ opening day: Clayton Kershaw ($33 million) vs. Padres ($28 million)

Clayton Kershaw makes more money than all 25 men on the Padres’ opening-day roster combined.
(Jeff Gross / Getty Images)

Clayton Kershaw has started six times on opening day. He never has lost. On Monday, he makes what could be his most unusual start on opening day.

When Kershaw faces the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, he will throw the first pitch of a season in which his salary will be greater than all of the Padres.

Not just greater than the nine Padres in the starting lineup. Greater than all 25 men on the Padres’ opening-day roster.

Kershaw, the Dodgers’ ace and three-time National League Cy Young Award winner, will earn $33 million this season, the highest salary of any player in the major leagues.

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