The Los Angeles Dodgers were expected to be the cream of the crop in the major leagues this season -- and they have not disappointed thus far.
The Dodgers look to improve to 9-0 on Friday when they begin a three-game road series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Sporting a roster loaded with superstars and talented youngsters -- not to mention impressive depth at almost every position -- Los Angeles came into the season primed to defend its World Series title. The Dodgers have looked every bit the part through eight games, defeating the Chicago Cubs twice in Japan before coming back to the States to sweep both the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves.
Shohei Ohtani put an exclamation point on a 6-5 victory over Atlanta on Wednesday with a walk-off home run on the first pitch he saw from Raisel Iglesias. The reigning National League MVP is hitting .333 with a 1.126 OPS so far, and he is tied with the Yankees' Aaron Judge with a major-league-best 11 runs.
"It's actually an honor to feel the pressure because that means there's a lot of expectations and I just change that to more of a positive," Ohtani said through an interpreter after the Wednesday win.
The Phillies have opened the season in impressive fashion as well, posting five victories in six games. They swept the visiting Colorado Rockies in a three-game series this week, punctuated by a 3-1 triumph on Thursday.
Kyle Schwarber homered and J.T. Realmuto notched three hits in support of Taijuan Walker, who logged six scoreless innings to earn the victory.
"(Walker has the) ability to get ahead of guys, and he mixed really well today. I think he kept them off-balance pretty well today and he was able to use all of his pitches effectively," said Realmuto, who would love to see a similar effort out of Jesus Luzardo on Friday.
Luzardo (1-0, 3.60 ERA) allowed two runs in five innings in his Phillies debut on Saturday against the Washington Nationals. He struck out 11 of the 22 batters he faced, showing exactly why the team acquired him from the Miami Marlins in the offseason.
"He's awesome," Philadelphia second baseman Bryson Stott said. "He fits right in. He's electric. Obviously, we saw him a lot (when he was with the Marlins). It's even more electric when he's striking out 11 from a different team and not us."
Luzardo has a 3.48 ERA with a 0-0 record in four career appearances (three starts) vs. the Dodgers.
Los Angeles has a rotation full of electric pitchers, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0, 2.70 ERA) will take his turn in the series opener.
The Japanese right-hander, who has never faced the Phillies, logged five innings in each of his first two starts this season, including a career-high 10-strikeout performance Friday against Detroit. He gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in a game the Dodgers eventually won in extra innings.
"I thought Yamamoto threw the heck out of the baseball," Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. "A lot of punchouts."
Los Angeles already owns the best start in baseball history for a defending World Series champion. The best start in Dodgers franchise history is 10-0, when the team played in Brooklyn during the 1955 season.
The Phillies won five of the six matchups between the teams last season, including a three-game sweep in Philadelphia in July.
--Field Level Media
