The Tigers answered and fought back numerous times, but couldn’t overcome the Dodgers, losing to the defending world champions 5-4 on Opening Day.
The story of the Tigers opening day loss will be this stat: 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position, with two sacrifice fly outs as the only way Detroit was able to bring runners home tonight. In total, 11 runners were left in scoring position, including the top of the ninth where there were runners on first and second with one out.
Tarik Skubal did what he could, but felt the power of that Dodgers offense with four earned runs off six hits with just two strikeouts in five innings of pitching. Skubal had only given up one run until Teoscar Hernandez’s two-out, three-run homer gave Los Angeles a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Shohei Ohtani also homered, sending Brenan Hanifee’s pitch deep to left field to make it a 5-3 game in the bottom of the seventh.
If there is a shining star for the Tigers tonight, it’s Spencer Torkelson. In his new role as designated hitter, Torkelson drew four walks and hit the only home run of the day for the Tigers in the top of the seventh. Detroit will get two more shots at the Dodgers in this season-opening three-game series.
Tigers leave multiple runners on base, can’t complete comeback as Dodgers win home opener 5-4
Top 9th
Veteran Blake Treinen comes to the mound to get the final three outs for the Dodgers, facing Torres to start off, but the second baseman gets a hit past second baseman Rojas for a single. Greene’s up to bat but he takes an inside sinker for a nasty strikeout. Torkelson comes up against Treinen as Torres steals second to take away the double play, then tries to steal third but Torkelson hits a foul ball. Torkelson works to a full count and takes the ball for his fourth walk of the game as first and second have runners on. Trey Sweeney comes in to pinch-hit for Manuel Margot, and he gets to a 2-2 count before swinging and missing at a nasty sweeper below the zone. Keith is up and gets to a 3-1 count then swings at a inside cutter and pops out to Freeman for the final out. (End of game)
Bottom 8th
Beau Brieske comes up for some important pitches. Hernandez hits a grounder to McKinstry for the first out, then Freeman works a 3-2 count before hitting a fly ball to left field for the second out. Edman strikes out on three pitches, and now the Tigers have three outs left to tie this game.
Top 8th
Ibanez flies out to right-center field for the final out, and if the Tigers can keep the Dodgers from scoring again, they’ll have three more outs to tie this game.
McKinstry hits a triple, Carpenter’s sac fly brings Tigers within a run again in top of the eighth
Tanner Scott comes to the mount as the Tigers have two innings left to rally, and it starts as McKinstry hits a line drive to center field and he hustles for the triple. Rogers strikes out on four pitches for the first out, then Carpenter hits a sacrifice fly to left field that brings McKinstry home as the Tigers won’t go away.
Bottom 7th
Dodger Stadium woke up after that homer, as Betts hits a grounder to McKinstry for the final out, but Los Angeles gets their Opening Day Shohei homer.
Ohtani goes deep, gives Dodgers their two-run lead back in bottom of the seventh
Brenan Hanifee takes over for Brebbia on the mound to finish the bottom of the order. Rojas grounds out in five pitches, then Pages swings and misses at an inside pitch for the second out. Now Hanifee faces Ohtani, who works a 3-2 count before crushing a ball to left field for a home run, and that’s why he’s the reigning NL MVP.
Top 7th
Margot can’t keep up the momentum as he strikes out following Torkelson’s homerun, then Keith also strikes out as he’s now 0-for-4 at the plate in this opening game.
Torkelson continues his strong day with homerun, Tigers now down 4-3 in top of the seventh
Greene goes up against new pitcher Alex Vesia, but he strikes out on only three pitches. Torkelson faces a 1-2 count before unleashing on an inside fastball, sending the ball deep to left-center field for a home run! That one went 423 feet deep as the Tigers get within a run.
Bottom 6th
John Brebbia takes over on the mound for Skubal. Brebbia gets Edman to ground out in just two pitches, then strikes out Will Smith in three pitches. Muncy fights for five pitches but he also strikes out as Brebbia makes quick work of those three batters.
Top 6th
Ben Casparius takes over for Snell after the starter’s five innings and two earned runs. Zack McKinstry, pinch hitting for Baez, works back from a 0-2 count to draw a walk, then Rogers gets a hit on the first pitch for a single as there’s runners on first and second with no outs. There’s a quick mound visit for Casparius as Kerry Carpenter pinch-hits for Kriedler but he pops out to Betts for the first out. Ibanez strikes out after a long nine-pitch at-bat, then Torres grounds out as the Dodgers’ pitching gets out of another jam.
Bottom 5th
Freeman flies out to Greene for the final out, but the damage has been done as the Dodgers hit another homer against Skubal and go up big as we’re halfway through the game.
Hernandez makes Skubal pay for walk, hits 3-run homer as Dodgers take 4-2 lead in bottom of the fifth
Rojas starts the bottom of the fifth with a ground out to third base, then Pages works an eight pitch at-bat before hitting a single to right field. Ohtani grounds out on his third at-bat of the day, but the Tigers can’t pull off the double play as Ohtani gets to first base. Skubal walks Betts on four pitches, then it takes Hernandez one pitch to crush Skubal’s fastball deep to center field as the Dodgers take the lead again.
Top 5th
Keith can’t add more to the scoreboard as he grounds out to first base, but the Tigers leave the top of the inning with the lead.
Tigers load bases, Margot’s sac fly gives Tigers 2-1 lead in top of the fifth
Andy Ibanez flies out to Andy Pages for the first out of the fifth inning, but Torres makes up for his mistakes in the bottom of the third by hitting a sharp single that lands in center field. Greene works to a 3-2 count and hits a line-drive double to center field as Torres slides safely to third. Torkelson also gets to a 3-2 count before holding the swing for his third walk today to load the bases. Margot hits a sacrifice fly to center field that brings Torres home as Greene moves to third.
Bottom 4th
Freeman grounds out on four pitches, then Kriedler runs a long way before making a great sliding catch at center field to get Edman out. Smith hits a line drive to get to first base, then Muncy strikes out on a changeup for his second strikeout to end the fourth inning.
Wild pitch helps Tigers tie up game at 1-1 in top 4th
Torkelson draws another walk, this time on six pitches, then Margot hits a ground ball that lands at right field as the Tigers now have two men on base again. Keith hits a line drive to left field for the first out, then Baez swings at a low pitch and grounds out, moving Torkelson to third and Margot to second. It only takes five pitches for Rogers to draw a walk as Snell gets a mound visit. The bases are loaded with two outs, as Kriedler draws a 2-2 count before Snell throws a wild pitch that bounces away as all the runners advance and Torkelson scores. Kriedler swings and misses for the final out, but the Tigers even up the score.
Bottom 3rd
Skubal looks to bounce back, and he starts well as both Miguel Rojas and Andy Pages ground out for two outs. Ohtani gets a hit that just gets past second baseman Torres for a single, then Betts gets a hit as Torres slips and can’t grab the ball. Ohtani moves to third as Betts sits at first, but Skubal gets his first strikeout of the day as Hernandez swings and misses at a low curveball for the final out.
Top 3rd
Now to the top of the third and it seems to be a “swing at first pitch” type of day as Ryan Kriedler singles to left field on the first pitch. Ibanez grounds out to a changeup for the first out as Kriedler advances to second, then Torres flies out to Hernandez as the fielder is mic’d up for ESPN. Greene pops out to Betts for the third and final out.
Edman hits it 401 feet deep to left field, Dodgers take 1-0 lead in bottom 2nd
Freddie Freeman comes up to bat, and last year’s World Series MVP swings at first pitch and flies out to left field for the first out. Tommy Edman is up, and he crushes a four-seam fastball right down the middle to left field for a home run. Smith wants to go back-to-back but his first swing is a flyout to Margot at right field, then Muncy hits a loud lineout to Margot for the final out of the inning.
Top 2nd
Here’s Spencer Torkelson batting from the DH spot, as he takes a five-pitch walk from Snell. Manuel Margot hits a fastball that lands right in front of Hernandez at right field for a single as Torkelson runs to third base. Colt Keith’s hit gets stuck right in front of catcher Will Smith, as Torkelson runs too early and gets caught out at third. Javier Baez comes up with Keith at first and Manuel at second, as Muncy throws Baez out at first with the runners each advancing a base. Jake Rogers cracks a hit but it stops at the warning track for a flyout to left field as Snell and the Dodgers escape without giving up a run.
Bottom 1st
What a crazy way to the start the bottom of the first, as it’s AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal against NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, but Ohtani grounds out to first base on the first pitch for the first out. Mookie Betts takes a fastball deep to left field for a flyout, then Teoscar Hernandez grounds out to first base as the first inning goes by quick.
Top 1st
Gleyber Torres slips and grounds out to first base for the second out, then Riley Greene swings and misses at a curveball in the dirt for the final out and a quick inning for Snell.
First Pitch
Welcome to Opening Day 2025, as its the first regular season game for the Detroit Tigers and the home opener for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Former Tiger and Dodger Kirk Gibson throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the game. Blake Snell starts the game as Andy Ibanez leads off for the Tigers, and our first official pitch leads to a line drive out to Max Muncy at third base.
Preview
It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball, with two of the biggest stories from last season facing off in primetime, as the Detroit Tigers travel to Los Angeles and start a season-opening three-game series against the defending world champion Dodgers.
AJ Hinch and the Tigers look to build momentum off their improbable late-season run last year, making the postseason for the first time since 2014 and winning their first series since 2013. Although they fell one game short of an American League Championship Series appearance, this current roster is full of players like Riley Greene and Colt Keith leading the offense, with a strong pitching rotation highlighted by AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
The Dodgers (2-0) already started their season with a series sweep of the Chicago Cubs in Japan, and look to repeat as champions. Already boasting a loaded roster with players such as NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers made more noise in the offseason with additions like former Cy Young winner Blake Snell and the highly touted pitching prospect Roki Sasaki.
Speaking of Skubal and Snell, the two left-handers are the starting pitchers for tonight’s game. Skubal looks to show his stuff against one of the best lineups in the entire league, while Snell tries to impress in his debut in Dodger blue.
Follow along here for live updates from Detroit News contributor Kameron Goodwill.
Tigers at Dodgers
▶ Series: Three games at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
▶ First pitch: Thursday — 7:10; Friday — 10:10; Saturday — 9:10
▶ TV/radio: Thursday — ESPN, 97.1; Friday-Saturday — FanDuel Sports/97.1 FM.
▶ Probables: Thursday — LHP Tarik Skubal (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Blake Snell (0-0, 0.00); Friday — RHP Jack Flaherty (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Yoshinobu (1-0, 1.80); Saturday — RHP Reese Olson (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Roki Sasaki (0-0, 3.00).
Thursday’s starters
▶ Skubal: Coming off a Triple Crown (led the American League in wins, ERA and strikeouts) and Cy Young-winning season, Skubal had a dominant spring, posting a 2.33 ERA and 0.828 WHIP in five starts with 24 strikeouts and one walk. This is his second straight Opening Day start and his first ever at Dodger Stadium. He threw six strong innings against the Dodgers at Comerica Park last season, allowing two hits, two runs with eight strikeouts.
▶ Snell: The Dodgers signed the two-time Cy Young winner for $182 million over five years despite being limited to 20 starts with nagging lower-body injuries last season. He was limited to 4.2 innings this spring, as well, and didn’t pitch in the Tokyo Series. So it’s unclear how much he’s built up. But when he’s healthy he’s elite with five pitches with positive run values, per Statcast, including one of the best curveballs in the game. He had a 37.7% whiff rate and a 34.7% strikeout rate last season.
— Chris McCosky
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