Dodgers Opening Day record one year ago today

One year ago today, the Dodgers hit eight long balls in an Opening Day drubbing of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Remember when they played baseball?

It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was only one full turn on the calendar back to 2019 when the Dodgers opened the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a game they hit an Opening Day record eight home runs.

Joc Pederson and Enrique Hernandez led the power surge with two home runs each. The Dodgers did the majority of their damage off former-Dodger and Arizona Ace, Zack Greinke, in the fourth inning. Hernandez and Austin Barnes hit back-to-back homers. Greinke got opposing pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu to groundout and struck out Pederson, before Corey Seager launched the third long ball of the inning, knocking Greinke out of the game.

Christian Walker added to the home run total in the sixth, and then thunder struck again in the seventh inning, when for the second time of the game, the Dodgers sent three pitches over the fence. Max Munch started the party with a solo shot to right. Then Cody Bellinger hit the first of his 47-homer season. Enrique Hernandez followed up Bellinger in back-to-back fashion with his second of the game.

The eight home runs by the Dodgers tied a franchise mark previously set in 2002 in a 16-3 win over the Brewers. Los Angeles has connected for seven home runs in a game seven times, including once in 2019, when they almost matched their franchise record again in a blowout win against the Colorado Rockies.

It has been all or nothing for the Dodgers over the past several openers. In their three previous wins in 2015, 2017, and 2019, they have scored a combined 32 runs; in their opening losses during those even year seasons, they have been limited to only two runs.

The 2019 Dodgers finished the season with 279 long balls, one of four teams that surpassed the previous home run season total record of 267 set by the Yankees in 2018.