Dodgers Open Show: Excitement Meets Reality Clash

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches against Team Venezuela in the first inning during the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Saturday. (Al Bello / Getty Images) The first pitch of the Dodgers ’ 2026 season won’t capture the exuberance of the last pitch of 2025. But it will be meaningful in its own right, as the official first step of the team’s quest for a third straight championship.

How poetic that the same arm should deliver both pitches. "It's an honor for me,” Dodgers opening day starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto said Tuesday through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “And then it's opening day at a Dodger Stadium home game, and that's very [much an] honor to me.

I also feel the responsibility. " Yamamoto is scheduled to make one more Cactus League start, against the Padres on Friday, before taking the Dodger Stadium mound next Thursday when the Diamondbacks come to town. It will be the second opening-day start of Yamamoto's MLB career, and his first at home.

It will also mark the end of a whirlwind offseason and spring training for Yamamoto, who not only shouldered a demanding postseason workload, but also navigated an especially quick turnaround to pitch for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic. “It’s hard to put into words,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He is just very driven, he’s very disciplined in his work.