15,036 fans were socially distanced across Dodgers Stadium welcoming home the 2020 World Champions, kicking off the 60th season of Dodgers baseball.
The thunderous applause of the limited capacity echoed through the stadium with the presence of a sold out crowd. Los Angeles welcomed fans at Dodger Stadium friday for the first time since Oct. 9, 2019.
In the pregame championship ceremonies, the defending champs received their 2020 World Series rings nearly 32 years to the day that the 1988 club received their special jewelry.
It’s all in the details. pic.twitter.com/GDZcNh35YZ
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 9, 2021
“The bars been raised on ring ceremonies,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Our players really enjoyed it, the fans that were here and those that were watching I’m sure they enjoyed it as well.”
“The details and making it personal for every player was a nice added touch. It was a great day all around and we played a heck of a ball game,” said Roberts.
Each Dodger that received rings also got a special message from their favorite childhood players shown on the jumbotron before collecting their shiny jewelry.
Icy. 💍 pic.twitter.com/8US1gxZchb
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 10, 2021
The Dodgers defeated the visiting 2019 champion Washington Nationals 1-0.
Washington faced a focused Walker Buehler on the mound, poised and determined to not let anything get in his way of a home opener victory.
Buehler threw six shutout innings tallying four strikeouts in 90 pitches thrown.
Mookie Betts was a late scratch due to back tightness while Cody Bellinger landed on the injured list hours before first pitch with a calf injury.
The Dodgers got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning provided by a Justin Turner home run to deep left center field. Turner collected three of the Dodgers four hits all day proving once again he is the clutch veteran needed in the dugout.
The Dodgers improved to a 6-2 record and are the heavy favorites to repeat next season with the addition of flame throwing pitcher Trevor Bauer to the rotation.
