Dodgers reach 7-0, matching 1933 Yankees for best-ever start for defending champions

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LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers have invited history to come to them, assembling an overwhelming collection of talent and reinforcing the reigning World Series champions with even more cash in pursuit of something baseball has not seen in 25 years: a repeat winner.

They have since spent the start of this season looking every bit the juggernauts that took home a title. A 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday already secured at least one bit of history, with the Dodgers’ 7-0 season start matching the 1933 New York Yankees for the best start baseball has seen from a defending World Series winner. It’s also the Dodgers’ best start to a season since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.

The victory tour has crossed continents, starting with a two-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Dome and continuing through a weeklong party at Dodger Stadium. The homestand has been rife with recollections of the Dodgers’ 2024 success, from Hollywood-esque entrances to a ring ceremony. It has also included a sweep of the Detroit Tigers and continued through two games against the still-winless Atlanta Braves.

Little has seemingly shifted the team’s focus, even amidst the hoopla.

“This is who we are,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday afternoon with history within sight. “This is what we do. I think one of the things that’s a strength of ours is the intelligence of our baseball players. Our guys understand the importance of each game, how you play games. Then it just kind of lets you go about your business and not think about other things as far as expectations. It’s just more fun that way.”

It was Mookie Betts’ turn again Tuesday night, redeeming himself after his first defensive lapse of the year in his transition to shortstop. Betts was responsible for Atlanta’s lone run against Dodgers starter Dustin May, having the ball slip from his fingers when attempting to complete a second-inning double play ball.

Betts put the Dodgers ahead four innings later while reigning National League Cy Young winner Chris Sale was crafting a dominant outing in hopes of getting Atlanta its first win. Shohei Ohtani left off the sixth inning with a single, just the second hit Sale had surrendered all night. When Betts got a slider over the plate, he didn’t miss, sending his former Boston Red Sox teammate Sale off on a sour note with a two-run home run that bounced off the top of the padded wall in left field and into the seats.

Clutch like Mookie! pic.twitter.com/MnzNgodIOr

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 2, 2025

The Dodgers have managed a torrid start to the season while rarely feeling whole. They won both games in Tokyo without either Betts or Freddie Freeman. Betts dealt with a nasty stomach virus that caused him to drop nearly 20 pounds. Freeman dealt with soreness in his ribs after aggravating an injury he played through all October last year. Freeman also sat for the second consecutive game Tuesday after aggravating his surgically-repaired right ankle in a fall in the shower at his home Sunday morning. Los Angeles has played five of its seven games with one, or both, of Betts and Freeman not in the lineup.

“It’s just a testament to our team,” Freeman said. “Our team is so talented, so deep.”

They still haven’t lost. Betts returned to the lineup and hit two home runs – including a walk-off in extra innings – to steal a game from the Tigers on Friday night. Freeman slugged a pair of home runs over the weekend. Ohtani has scored in every game and looked every part of his MVP self from a year ago, even coming off shoulder surgery.

A starting rotation brimming with talent has shown its depth, even with Roki Sasaki struggling mightily with his control in both starts. The team entered Tuesday off to a 6-0 start that matched the best the franchise had seen since moving to Los Angeles — and that was before May even made a start.

May, the club’s former top pitching prospect, was making his first start in a big league game since May 17, 2023. That day, an elbow that ached throughout his rehab from Tommy John surgery gave way. He underwent flexor tendon surgery and was nearly back last season until a freak incident at dinner threatened his life. He was eating a salad last July 10 when a piece of lettuce lodged in his throat. Had he not rushed in for emergency surgery, May said this spring, he wouldn’t have survived the night.

The right-hander returned looking every bit as electric. He struck out the side in the first inning he pitched, hitting 98 mph with his fastball and displaying his same bounce when bounding off the mound. He’d complete five innings and strike out six, allowing just one hit and an unearned run in his first start in 22 months.

It would crack the door open for the Dodgers to rally against Sale, and another win. A repeat championship won’t be won in April, but the Dodgers have continued to look the part of the same team that won it all a year ago. Those 1933 Yankees did not repeat as champions, finishing in second place. Los Angeles hopes to write a different script.

“They’re not settling for just the one ring,” said Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto, who signed a one-year deal this offseason. “I mean, they’re hungry. I think it’s just ingrained in the group of guys that were here last year, and they made it a point for the guys that weren’t here (to) just help us understand the mindset is to go out there and win every single day. Not take any days off and just really get after it. That’s the expectation.”

The Dodgers’ torrid start has not been a dominant one. They rallied Tuesday night for their fifth comeback victory in seven games to start the season. So it goes for these Dodgers — even when not overpowering, they play as if they are inevitable.

“Are we gonna win every game?” Freeman said. “No. But we’re gonna try.”

(Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)

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