Dodgers Rout Padres 5-2 as Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani Make Brilliant Debuts

MLB’s first regular season game in South Korea took place on Wednesday morning between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. The game started out slow and low-offense, but in the eighth inning, the Dodgers scored four runs to defeat the Padres 5-2.

During the course of five innings, pitcher Tyler Glasnow allowed two runs on two hits and four walks while delivering some major filth. This was Glasnow’s first start since joining the Dodgers.

Even though the Dodgers fell behind for over half of Glasnow’s inning, he remained composed and the four relievers that followed him, including Evan Phillips, the team’s most likely closer, prevented another run from reaching base.

The Padres’ pitching was not quite as good. Yu Darvish didn’t go until the fourth inning before being pulled, despite only giving up one run on two hits. The Padres staff gave up nine walks and were hit with four different pitch clock infractions. (In fairness, the home plate umpire was adamant on enforcing his extremely small strike zone.) However, they were only able to limit the Dodgers to one run until the eighth inning, when Wandy Peralta, Adrian Morejon, and Johny Brito—who took the loss—let the Dodgers take the lead.

This game wasn’t particularly significant because of the intriguing duel between Darvish and Glasnow. After making his Dodgers debut, Shohei Ohtani quickly proved why he was valued at over $600 million.

Ohtani helped the team win by going 2-for-5 with a walk and an RBI. However, in the eighth inning, he made his first mistake as a Dodger by failing to tag second base and instead going back to first. Well, at least he finished it early, right?

The Gocheok Sky Dome is contained because it is a dome, and this did slow some fly balls down. The Dodgers managed to win even though Mookie Betts and Fernando Tatis blasted some deep balls that just perished in the outfield. They didn’t get a hit with a man on base until the top of the eighth inning, but they still managed to score a few runs by loading the bases in two different innings and taking advantage of the Padres’ wildness and small strike zone.

However, Padres first baseman Jake Cronenworth’s glove also deserves a debut from the Dodgers. Gavin Lux blasted a chopper toward first base side that Cronenworth grabbed technically in that chaotic ninth. Sadly for Cronenworth, the glove did not truly stop the ball; instead, it went straight into it. It broke through the webbing, allowing the Dodgers to mount a late rally despite a double play that ended the inning.

Baseball, as they say, is an inches game. With only a few inches to either side, the appearance of this game changes dramatically. However, that’s the reason both clubs still have 161 games left to play; eventually, the Padres will win those inches. In baseball, as they say, there’s always tomorrow.