Dodgers: Balloons, Kiké, 5 things we learned from opening night win

It was an entertaining opening night for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had a bittersweet start to the 2020 season with starter Clayton Kershaw scratched from his Opening Day start due to back stiffness just before the team beat the San Francisco Giants 8-1.

It’s one game, normally out of 162, but this season it’s one game out of 60, so while it carries a bit more weight, it’s still early to draw too many conclusions from one win. However, there are some interesting things we learned.

1. A birthday balloon finds its way onto the field

In a season that will be anything but normal, we start with the strangest moment of the night. In the bottom of the 8th inning, with the Dodgers leading 6-1, a birthday balloon randomly appeared out of nowhere and floated onto the infield dirt.

The look on the face of the umpire and Giants second baseman when the balloon landed just in front of them was priceless. Dodger Stadium organist Dieter Ruehle had fun with the moment playing 99 Luftballons as the ball boy collected the heaven sent item and brought it into the clubhouse.

Without fans in attendance, it makes you wonder where this phantom balloon could have come from. If I were the Dodgers, I would get it framed and keep it in the locker room for good luck this season.

Now that we’ve gone over the strangest moment, let’s discuss the key takeaways from the Dodgers opening night win.

3. Thank goodness for Joe and Orel

It didn’t take long for ESPN to mess up opening night for Dodger fans. After waiting since last October to see the team play a real baseball game, ESPN came out of a commercial break late, causing fans to miss the first batter of the season.

Giants centerfielder Mike Yastrzemski reached on an infield error by shortstop Corey Seager. At least that’s what the box score says, because nobody other than the players and the cardboard cutouts in the stands saw it happen.

Inexplicably, the Worldwide Leader made the same mistake again in the top of the second, missing the first pitch of the inning.

And that was just the beginning of the annoying mishaps by the national broadcast.

For some reason, they decided to interrupt an entire half inning by interviewing Oakland Athletic Matt Chapman. You know, because everyone watching the Giants vs the Dodgers wants to hear from a random player on another team about their yoga routine.

Let’s just say Dodger fans will be happy to hear Joe, Orel, and Alanna on SportsNet LA on Friday. A huge takeaway from Opening Night: watching Dodger games on ESPN is insufferable.

4. Kiké Hernández is ready for a big season

It came as a surprise when top prospect Gavin Lux was optioned to the team’s alternate site this week. When the Dodgers reported to Spring Training in March, it seemed like the everyday job at second base would belong to Lux.

However, after arriving late to summer camp for undisclosed reasons, it quickly became apparent that the Dodgers were considering other options to play the middle of the infield next to Corey Seager.

While Chris Taylor had an impressive camp, Hernandez looked good, too. He earned the start at second on opening night, and boy, did he took advantage of the opportunity.

Hernández went 4-5 with 5 RBIs, including a clutch opposite-field, 2-RBI base hit in the 7th inning to give the Dodgers a 4-1 lead. His single in the 4th inning put the Dodgers first run on the board. And he capped off the night with a home run in the 8th inning to give the Boys in Blue a commanding 8-1 lead.

Per ESPN, Hernández is the 6th Dodger batter to record 5+ RBIs on Opening Day since the stat became official in 1920, joining the likes of Raúl Mondesi and Pedro Guerrero.

This is an important season for Kiké as he will be a free agent in the winter. Obviously, he has great incentive to put up big numbers. And he is off to a great start.

5. Mookie Betts does little things to win baseball games

It didn’t take long for Mookie Betts to make an impression on Dodger fans. No, he didn’t hit a long home run, like he did earlier in the week during an intra-squad game. But he showed the intangible things he does to make a difference.

After collecting his first hit in a Dodger uniform with one out in the 7th inning, he reached third base on a Cody Bellinger double. The score was 1-1 at the time, the Dodgers had been struggling to get their juggernaut offense going. And leave it to Betts and Bellinger to be the spark plugs. Something Dodger fans hope to be seeing for years and years to come.

With Betts at third, and the infield partially in, Justin Turner hit a ground ball to second base that was hit hard enough to make it a difficult play to score from third. But Betts did just that, using his quick first step and speed to reach home safely and put the Dodgers up 2-1.

Betts started the night making a statement for social justice by kneeling during the national anthem. He had said before that he wouldn’t take a knee out of respect for his father who served in the Vietnam War, but his viewpoint on doing so has evolved since then.

“I wasn’t educated,” Betts said when asked how his perspective has changed since September 2016 (via ESPN). “That’s my fault. I need to be educated on the situation. I know my dad served and I’ll never disrespect the flag, but there’s also gotta be change in the world, and kneeling has nothing to do with those who served our country.”

We also learned that manager Dave Roberts plans on batting Betts in the two-hole against right-handed starters. By doing so, he can move Muncy to the lead-off spot and then effectively alternate left-handed and right-handed batters throughout the order. It also means that Cody Bellinger will bat third instead of fourth, flip-flopping with Justin Turner.