LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers, after a week in Tokyo and three days of celebrations filled with pageantry, insist they now have closure on their World Series championship season.
Oh, they had a blast, with the World Series banner being hoisted one day, receiving their glorious championship rings filled with more than 300 diamonds the next, and the presentation of Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards on the third day. But now, it’s back to business.
They still have nearly an entire season to be played — well, 157 more regular-season games, to be exact. But they also now have visions of history dancing in their heads.
The Dodgers, despite Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki’s meltdown, won yet again Saturday night, 7-3 over the Detroit Tigers, giving them a 5-0 record for the first time since 1981.
Just like that, the record of 116 regular-season victories by the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners could be in danger.
“I think this team deserves everything that is happening right now,’’ Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “All of the hard work, all of the things the front office did, I mean, we got guys that are hungry. Our mentality right now is to win every single day, no matter who we’re playing, or where we’re playing.
“I’m not going to back off what I said before, we can do it. We’re good to go. Our main goal now is to be healthy when October comes.’’
Yes, it may be the first week of the season, but the Dodgers are showing the kind of resiliency that was their trademark last season, surviving a horrid start by Sasaki, who lasted just 1.2 innings before turning the game over to the vaunted bullpen. It was reminiscent of their playoff stretch last season in which they used four bullpen games, and, of course, it was only fitting that Freddie Freeman sent another home run into the right-field pavilion, just like he did in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series.
“It’s been a great weekend,’’ Freeman said. “You appreciate what we did last year, celebrated with our fans this whole weekend, and then went out there and played the game, and win the game. I thought today was a special job from our bullpen.’’
Deja vu?
“It’s like five months ago, we saw what they just did,’’ Freeman said, “especially early on in the season. That’s hard for them to do. For them to want the ball and go out there and execute. … Pretty amazing.
“Just smiles on our face, each and every day.’’
The only negative of the Dodgers’ glorious first week are the struggles of Sasaki, the 23-year-old sensation every team in baseball coveted. He had command problems in his major-league debut in Japan, walking five batters in just three innings, and then was worse in his Dodger Stadium debut. He recorded only five outs, walked four batters, and threw just 32 strikes in his 61 pitches.
He looked rattled, appeared to lose his composure at times, and was visibly frustrated when he left the game. He didn’t hand the ball over to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts when he came out. He headed straight to the dugout, down the tunnel to the clubhouse, before Roberts called him back.
“Dodger Stadium is intimidating,’’ Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “There’s four decks here. It’s loud. It’s fun. It takes a lot to be able to perform here.’’
Sasaki denied that nerves were a problem, saying simply he didn’t have his command, but is confident it will come.
“Overall, I didn’t feel that I had a good feel for my pitches,” Sasaki said. “My slider felt pretty good. But my fastball-split – velo-wise, command-wise – wasn’t there. … I don’t expect myself to be able to fix everything in a short period of time. That being said, I am going to be pitching every week so I do expect as a major-league pitcher to be able to put up quality outings.’’
Besides his lack of command, Sasaki, who averaged 98 mph on his fastball and hit 102 in Japan, has yet to show the same velocity. He averaged 96.1 mph on his fastballs, topping off at 96.9 mph, and generated only two swings-and-misses.
The Dodgers say there’s no reason to panic. It’s only two games. Give him time, Roberts says, and he’ll show everyone why the entire world wanted him.
“He wants to perform,’’ Roberts said. “All he’s known is success. And, so, I think that he’s certainly upset, disappointed. But you’ve got to be a pro and get back to work. It’s not the first time that a starting pitcher has had two bad outings.
“This is all a learning curve. We’ve still got a good ballclub. We’re going to need him.’’
Besides, when you’re winning like the Dodgers, and can overcome virtually any adversity with $400 million worth of talent, why worry?
“It kind of feels,’’ Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy says, “like we’re just picking up where we left off last year.’’
Follow Nightengale on X: @BNightengale
