Dustin May returns after 22 months as Dodgers start season 7-0 - ESPN
LOS ANGELES — The first seven games of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2025 season have seen them play in two continents, face two reigning Cy Young Award winners and navigate two elaborate pregame ceremonies.
Major League Baseball's traditional Opening Day was only five days ago, and yet it seems as if the Dodgers have already done it all — except lose.
On Tuesday night, they came from behind to beat the languishing Atlanta Braves 3-1 and improve to 7-0, tying the 1933 New York Yankees of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig for the best start to a season for a reigning champion. Only two Dodgers teams have started a season on a longer winning streak, and both instances — in 1940 and 1955 — occurred when the franchise was still in Brooklyn.
The current Dodgers did it by overcoming both Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale. They did it despite beginning their season more than 5,000 miles away, in Japan. They did it with either Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman or — as was the case from the Tokyo Dome — both absent from the lineup more than half the time. And they did it while shouldering the pressure and expectations of one of the most star-studded rosters in their sport's history.
«All that stuff. It's tough to win a handful of ballgames, let alone all of them,» said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, whose team has stayed just ahead of the 6-0 San Diego Padres in the National League West. «I think we just do a really good job of resetting.»
The Dodgers have yet to fully click. But a theme has developed through their first seven contests: solid pitching and timely hitting. Their .864 OPS with runners in scoring position is the seventh highest in the majors, despite not yet unveiling their best lineup. Their 2.25 ERA ranks fourth, even though Roki Sasaki