Will Smith had three hits and drove in four runs, Julio Urias went six innings in his first Opening Day start and the Los Angeles Dodgers earned an 8-2 victory Thursday against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
Rookie James Outman hit a home run, while J.D. Martinez and David Peralta each had RBI singles in their Dodgers debuts. Urias (1-0) gave up a pair of runs in his first two innings but settled down to give up four hits with no walks and six strikeouts.
Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno each drove in runs for the Diamondbacks, while right-hander Zac Gallen (0-1) gave up five runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings with three walks and seven strikeouts. Gallen entered with a 2.30 ERA against the Dodgers in 54 2/3 innings.
The Diamondbacks got off to a fast start when Ketel Marte was hit by a pitch from Urias as the second batter of the game, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled and Walker had an RBI single.
Arizona made it 2-0 in the second inning when Moreno’s sacrifice fly scored Nick Ahmed. It was all Dodgers from there.
The Dodgers got even in the third with a walk to Outman, a double from Miguel Rojas and a two-out, two-run single from Smith. Los Angeles had RBI singles from Smith, Martinez and Peralta in the fifth for a 5-2 lead.
Outman, in his first career Opening Day game, hit a home run to left field in the sixth for a 7-2 lead. It was the second home run of his career. Smith brought home the final Dodgers run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Relievers Phil Bickford, Shelby Miller and Yency Almonte closed out the victory, in the first regular-season game for the Dodgers since they earned a club-record 111 wins in 2022. Dodgers pitchers faced the minimum 21 batters over the final seven innings.
The Dodgers’ Max Muncy struck out five times, the most in a game in his career. Peralta, Outman, Rojas and Freddie Freeman each had two hits for Los Angeles.
–Field Level Media
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