No defending World Sequence champion has ever had a greater begin to the season than the 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers. Wednesday night time, the Dodgers improved to an ideal 8-0 because of Shohei Ohtani’s ninth inning walk-off dwelling run in opposition to the Atlanta Braves (LA 6, ATL 5). Ohtani fittingly hit the walk-off dwelling run on his bobblehead night time.
Los Angeles fell behind 5-0 early, then rallied in opposition to Atlanta’s bullpen to tie and ultimately win. Ohtani’s walk-off homer was already the second of the season for the Dodgers. Mookie Betts hit a walk-off homer in opposition to the Detroit Tigers final Friday to enhance the group to 4-0. Right here is Ohtani’s walk-off Wednesday:
The 8-0 begin is the perfect ever by a defending World Sequence champion and likewise the perfect by the Dodgers since they gained a franchise document 10 straight video games to open 1955. That was their third to final season in Brooklyn. Listed below are the longest profitable streaks to start out a season by a defending champion:
- 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers: 8-0 (and counting)
- 1933 New York Yankees: 7-0
- 1985 Detroit Tigers: 6-0
- 1934 New York Giants: 5-0
- A number of tied at 4-0 (most lately 1976 Cincinnati Reds)
Braves nonetheless winless, off to depressing begin
As for the Braves, Wednesday was a brand new low in what has been a wretched begin to the 2025 season. Atlanta is now 0-7 and stays baseball’s solely winless group. No group has ever reached the postseason after beginning the season 0-7, although there weren’t three wild-card spots for many of baseball historical past, so the Braves have that going for them.
Atlanta constructed its early 5-0 lead Wednesday on two Max Muncy’s throwing errors, Andy Pages dropping a line drive in heart subject, and Matt Olson lining a two-out, two-strike, two-run double to left within the second inning. Two-time Cy Younger winner Blake Snell walked 4 in 4 innings in his second Dodgers begin. He was charged with 5 runs, all unearned due to Muncy’s errors.
Tommy Edman (two-run) and Michael Conforto (solo) went deep within the center innings to get the Dodgers again into the sport. The crushing blow was Muncy’s two-out, two-strike, two-run tying double within the eighth. With the Braves determined for a win, supervisor Brian Snitker went to nearer Raisel Iglesias for the five-out save, and it backfired.
Muncy, it ought to be famous, used one of many new torpedo bats in his first three at-bats Wednesday. He went 0 for 3 with a strikeout, switched again to his common bat, then doubled dwelling two runs to tie the sport. They had been his first two RBI of the season. An inning later within the backside of the ninth, Ohtani despatched everybody dwelling together with his walk-off shot off Iglesias.
The 0-7 begin is Atlanta’s worst since an 0-9 begin to 2016, the second 12 months of the rebuild that led to their 2021 World Sequence title. The Braves completed 68-93 that 12 months. They’d not had a seven-game dropping streak at any level within the season since August 2016.
Mercifully, the Braves, who’re hitting .122 (6 for 49) with runners in scoring place, are finished with their season-opening West Coast journey. Thursday is a group off-day, then they may play their dwelling opener in opposition to the Miami Marlins at Truist Park on Friday. The Dodgers are heading out on their first highway journey of 2025. They’re going to face the Philadelphia Phillies at Residents Financial institution Park on Friday.
The San Diego Padres, who swept 4 video games from the Braves final weekend, are the one different undefeated group in baseball. They’re 7-0 following Wednesday’s win. That’s the longest profitable streak to start a season in franchise historical past.
