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4 major Dodgers storylines to monitor in the 2024 Seoul Series
As crazy as it sounds, the Dodgers have less than a week left until their 2024 campaign kicks off. Los Angeles will head to Seoul for two exhibition games -- one against the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO, and the other against Team Korea -- before playing a two-game regular season series against the Padres. After an exhilarating offseason, many Dodgers will make their debuts in Seoul, but there are certainly some question marks on the roster after recent injury updates as well.
It will be very intriguing for Dodger fans to see who will make the major league roster and who will be in the starting lineup in the first game against Yu Darvish, as plenty of non-injury roster questions have popped up over the course of spring training as well. These are the major storylines to monitor during the Dodgers' brief season-opening series.
4 Dodgers storylines to watch in Seoul Series vs Padres: Dodger Dingers?
The amount of power in this Dodgers lineup will definitely be something for fans to behold throughout the 2024 season, but why not get started early? During spring training, eight Dodgers hit two or more home runs, and although not all of those eight players will make the Seoul Series roster, an early-season power surge seems in order. Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández did not join the multi-homer spring training squad, but both of those two hit .400 in Spring Training and hit one homer each. Not to mention, both certainly have the reputations as power hitters and could leave the yard in Seoul.
Padres Game 1 starter Yu Darvish gave up 18 home runs in just 24 starts last year, and Freddie Freeman has three homers against Darvish in 31 career at-bats. After leading the Dodgers with three home runs in camp, could Freeman jumpstart the Dodgers' lineup early on? Absolutely. Notably, Shohei Ohtani has never faced off against Darvish, so Ohtani be another Dodger to show off his power early on. The newly-acquired Dodgers will try to establish themselves early on with some aggressive swings, and Dodgers fans should bank on a few of those swings connecting.
Ovations for Ohtani
If the reception for Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers spring training debut was any indication, the slugger will be getting plenty of praise from fans throughout the 2024 season. Even though Ohtani is a global superstar, the Seoul Series should bring an increased frenzy of fans clamoring to see him. After all, a flight from Tokyo to Seoul is less than three hours, a far cry from the 10 hours it would take any Ohtani fans from Tokyo to reach Los Angeles.
In fact, if any indication was needed to see how excited fans are for the Seoul Series, there are fewer than 10 total tickets available on Stubhub for both games against the Padres combined. Both games will certainly be almost entirely sold out, and the anticipation for Ohtani to play so close to his home country for the first time since the 2023 World Baseball Classic will certainly lead to some raucous reactions from those in attendance.
Starting Pitching Showcase
A heavy focus of the Dodgers' offseason was revamping the pitching staff, more specifically the starters. L.A. recently made the official announcement that Tyler Glasnow will make his regular season Dodgers debut in Game 1 in Seoul, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will make his MLB debut in Game 2. While Yamamoto's last few outings in Spring Training were rough, his first showing in a Dodgers uniform was dominant, and L.A. will hope that version of Yamamoto shows up once again to start the season off the right way.
On the other hand, Glasnow's most recent Spring Training start was remarkable. The righty made San Francisco Giants hitters look foolish, as he retired 16 of the 17 batters he faced in a 5.1-inning no-hit bid against the Giants. He lived up to his reputation as a strikeout pitcher as well, as he retired eight Giants in his final spring appearance by way of the K before he moves on to facing the Padres in Seoul.
Regardless of the recent spring training performances for these two pitchers, the stellar reputations of both arms speak for themselves, and Dodgers fans should be ecstatic to see such a strong duo take the mound in back-to-back games in Seoul against the Padres.
Rivalry Renewed
Finally, the last storyline to monitor when the Dodgers kick off their season is going to be the Dodgers seeing if they can continue their dominance over the Padres. San Diego missed the playoffs entirely in 2023, and after losing Juan Soto, Blake Snell (presumably), Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Gary Sánchez, and Josh Hader, among others, the Padres' 2024 roster is much worse on paper than it was in 2023 or 2022, although San Diego found a way to remedy that problem slightly with the addition of Dylan Cease.
Even against the better versions of Padres rosters, the Dodgers have not had any trouble dealing with San Diego (at least in regular season matchups). Los Angeles went 14-5 against San Diego in the 2022 regular season, and although the Padres got their revenge with a 3-1 series victory in the NLDS against the Dodgers during the 2022 postseason, Los Angeles responded by going 9-4 against San Diego in the 2023 regular season.
Looking at the head-to-head records, it is clear that the Dodgers have dominated this rivalry recently (and all-time as well). Dodgers fans would love to see that domination continue with an upgraded roster of their own to kick off the 2024 campaign, and, on paper, that is what should happen when the rivalry is renewed in Seoul.