The 2024 MLB regular season kicked off Wednesday morning on the other side of the world. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres played Game 1 of the two-game Seoul Series at the Gocheok Sky Dome "I believe this is pronounced Cock Sky Dome" in South Korea. Lucky for me, I was able to watch some of the game on my hour and twenty minute train ride to "The Big Apple" as I commuted to my hell job.
I think a lot of people either forgot this was happening, didn't care, or weren't interested because the games first pitch was around 6am EST. Baseball is already a dying sport, I don't think US fans are all that excited for a regular season NL West Matchup in the middle of March at the crack of dawn. Even if the Dodgers rolled out their line up of MVP's hitting back to back to back, as Shohei Ohtani made his Dodgers debut hitting second behind Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
Shohei Ohtani, the $700 million man who made his Dodgers debut, recorded his first hit, stolen base and RBI of the season.
I was able to get to my breakfast wrap, plant my fat ass down in the office kitchen and enjoy some chorizo and eggs while I enjoyed some 7am baseball.
San Diego scratched across two runs against Dodgers righty Tyler Glasnow and the Padres took a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning, but a Gavin Lux grounder went through Jake Cronenworth's glove at first base.....literally through the glove, it tore through the web, and that opened the door for a four-run inning. Los Angeles caught a break and capitalized.
Remember when I mentioned Mookie and Shohei hitting back to back in the order 30 seconds ago? Well they capitalized in the top of the 8th with back to back RBI singles to take a 5-2 lead, which proved to be the final score. Ohtani also made a base-running mistake, he did not retouch second base on his way back to first on Freddie Freeman's long fly out in the eighth inning, which ended the rally.
My dawgs Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. were a combined 0-7, Machado walked and ended up being one of the two runs for the Padres.
The Dodgers will look to complete the two-game Seoul Series sweep Thursday.
