Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Opening Day starter against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on March 26, 2026. (Kyodo)


LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed six innings of two-run ball, and Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a run scored in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 8-2 Opening Day win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.


The two-time defending World Series champions had offensive contributions from throughout their deep lineup in the Major League Baseball season opener at Dodger Stadium.


Andy Pages turned the game around with his go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning and Will Smith broke it open with his two-run blast in the bottom of the seventh.


Ohtani led off the season by ripping a single to right field off right-hander Zac Gallen (0-1). The two-way superstar got on base three times, drawing a walk in the fifth and getting hit by a pitch in the seventh.


Yamamoto (1-0) pitched three shutout innings before surrendering the lead on Geraldo Perdomo’s two-run bomb in the top of the fourth.


The reigning World Series MVP got into a winning position when Pages, batting eighth in the lineup, sparked a big fifth inning for the Dodgers by sending Gallen deep to left center with none out and runners on first and second.


Yamamoto fanned six and allowed five hits and no walks before exiting the mound at the end of the sixth on the way to notching an Opening Day win for the second year in a row.


“Although I gave up a go-ahead homer, I was able to reset and move on,” Yamamoto said, adding he was “very happy” to win another season opener. “It’s a relief to get the first win of the year.”


In other Opening Day action, Samurai Japan slugger Munetaka Murakami homered in his MLB regular-season debut for the Chicago White Sox, going deep to right field in the ninth inning of his team’s 14-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field.


The former Yakult Swallows standout, who joined Chicago via the posting system in the offseason, made a confident start, drawing walks in his first two plate appearances against All-Star right-hander Jacob Misiorowski (1-0).


He made his first MLB hit a memorable one, demonstrating his power as he led off the ninth with a towering 384-foot shot to the stands off right-hander Jake Woodford.


“I concentrated on my swing and did a good job getting the timing right,” Murakami said. “There are 161 games left. I want to focus on one game at a time so that I can get a good result at the end of the season.”