LOS ANGELES (AP) Joc Pederson and Enrique Hernandez each hit two of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ eight home runs, which set a major league record for opening day and tied the franchise mark for any game, during a 12-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.
Hernandez, Austin Barnes and Corey Seager all homered in the fourth inning to chase Arizona ace Zack Greinke.
Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Hernandez then connected in the seventh for the power-packed Dodgers, whose pursuit of a third straight National League pennant got off to a thrilling start.
Adam Jones and Christian Walker went deep for the Diamondbacks, but their pitching staff’s eight homers allowed also set a team record.
The Dodgers broke baseball’s previous opening day record of six homers, set by the Mets in 1988 and matched by the White Sox in 2008.
Los Angeles also equaled the franchise mark set against Milwaukee on May 23, 2002, when Shawn Green hit four of the Dodgers’ eight.
The Dodgers finished second in the majors last season with 235 homers, and they were even more potent in their first regular-season game under new hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc. All eight dingers were hit by returning players to the Dodgers, who have only two new position players on their opening day roster.
The Dodgers provided ample support for Hyun-Jin Ryu, who yielded four hits and struck out eight over six stellar innings as Los Angeles’ first opening day starter not named Clayton Kershaw since 2010. Kershaw’s franchise-record streak of eight consecutive opening day starts ended due to left shoulder inflammation.
Ryu, who retired 13 straight during one stretch, became the second Korean-born pitcher to start on opening day in the majors.
Meanwhile, Greinke’s latest return to Dodger Stadium was a debacle.
The $206.5 million right-hander allowed four homers for the fifth time in his career, but only the second time this decade. The Dodgers also hit four against their former star on Sept. 5, 2016, in Chavez Ravine, where Greinke has allowed 14 homers in 34 innings since his big-money move to Arizona.
Arizona reliever Matt Koch allowed the Dodgers’ other four homers over a seven-batter stretch in the sixth and seventh, abruptly toppling the majors’ opening day power record.
Pederson delivered as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter. After doubling and scoring in the first inning, he hit one of Greinke’s curveballs 420 feet to straightaway center in the second.
Hernandez drove a two-run shot to left in the fourth. Barnes followed with a solo shot to left – and two outs later, Seager chased Greinke with his first homer since April 28.
Seager was back in the Dodgers’ lineup for the first time since missing nearly all of last season due to Tommy John surgery.
After Pederson hit a two-run shot off Koch in the sixth, the Dodgers reached historic homer territory with shots by Muncy, Bellinger and Hernandez in a four-batter stretch of the seventh.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: Manager Torey Lovullo put Walker at first base on opening day instead of Jake Lamb, who was injured for part of spring. Paul Goldschmidt had been Arizona’s starting first baseman for the previous seven opening days. … Ildemaro Vargas made the opening day roster in place of Steven Souza Jr., who is out for the year with a knee injury.
Dodgers: Kershaw formally went on the injured list before the game along with lefties Rich Hill and Tony Cingrani.
UP NEXT
Ross Stripling is back in the Dodgers’ rotation for now, and the versatile 2018 All-Star welcomes the chance to prove himself while Kershaw and Hill are out. He faces Arizona lefty Robbie Ray, who looked great in spring training with 32 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.
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