It was – hands down – the worst television broadcast of a Dodgers Opening Day ever. So bad, in fact, that the first at-bat of the single-most-important – (and only) game in nearly a year was completely missed because ESPN didn’t come back from commercial break until after Dodgers right-hander Dustin May had already made his first pitch to San Francisco Giants centerfielder Mike Yastrzemski, which resulted in a Corey Seager error that left Yastrzemski already standing on first base before the broadcast even started. It was so bad that many Angelenos ended up muting the ESPN television audio and tuned in to the familiar voices of Charlie Steiner and Rick Monday on the AM570 radio broadcast. Yes, it was that bad.

Fortunately, Game-2 of the four-game set – and most of the remaining 59 games of the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season – will be back in the competent and professional (and Emmy-winning) hands of SportsNet LA’s Joe Davis, Orel Hershiser, and Alanna Rizzo, with an occasional Fox broadcast thrown in.

But enough of my personal rant and on to the game itself … and oh what a game it was.

After that first unseen batter, the Dodgers 22-year-old rookie right-hander was (as Dodgers newcomer Mookie Betts put it) “amazing,” allowing only one run on seven hits, with zero walks and four strikeouts in his 4.1 innings pitched.

“It’s the kind of thing you dream about, like a debut,” May told reporters (via Zoom) after the game. “I was anxious, just not being in a game scenario since October. The anxiousness of wanting to get started, but once the first pitch was thrown, I was all good.”

But for as good as May and relievers Caleb Ferguson, Pedro Báez, Adam Kolarek (who was credited with the win), and Brusdar Graterol were, the night belonged to Dodgers second baseman Kiké Hernandez.

All the 28-year-old San Juan, Puerto Rico native and sixth-round draft pick by the Houston Astros in 2009 did was go 4-for-5, with two singles, a double, and a two-run home run to drive in five of the Dodgers eight runs. He also made several outstanding defensive plays, including being the centerpiece of a rare 1-4-5 double play that saved a run.

“That was the approach I took tonight, and it paid off,” said Hernández after the game. “Get jammed and throw a grenade out there and hope they land. Then find the barrel a little more. I have a quick bat, and every time I swing, it looks max effort. I’ve got to constantly remind myself to slow down.”

“Kiké carried us tonight, which was great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game.

And then there’s that Betts fellow who, on Wednesday, signed a 12-year / $365 million contract extension with the Dodger, the largest in franchise history. Although the 27-year-old Nashville, TN native and fifth-round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2011 collected only one hit, his first as a Dodger, he was brilliant on the basepaths, scoring from third base on a play that very few could have successfully made.

Game-2 of the four-game series against The Hated Ones (thankfully) airs on SportsNet LA, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 P.M. PT. Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling will be on the hill for the Dodgers, with the Giants starter yet to be announced.

Play Ball!

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