LOS ANGELES — The Diamondbacks suppressed the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Opening Day celebration through four innings on Thursday, but the game quickly went sideways for Arizona in an 8-2 defeat.
After a pregame ceremony dedicated to L.A.’s back-to-back championships, the D-backs quieted the crowd as Zac Gallen dealt early and Geraldo Perdomo crushed a two-run home run off Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the third inning.
But, it did not last.
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By the seventh inning, Los Angeles had broken the game open with their second four-run inning of the ballgame, as a Will Smith home run off Taylor Clarke put the stamp on the game.
The Diamondbacks made two outs on the bases, left a couple web gems on the table that could have helped their pitchers and recorded one hit after the third inning in a game they will need to make sure was a lesson learned and not a tone setter.
Dodgers get to Zac Gallen eventually
Gallen’s final statline is an ugly four innings with four earned runs on five hits. Four runs in four innings was Gallen’s line on Opening Day last season against the Chicago Cubs, too.
The right-hander, however, was efficient through four shutout frames, having retired 12 of 13 batters.
The fifth inning got away, as a Max Muncy hard grounder got past second baseman Ketel Marte for a single, and Teoscar Hernandez reached base on a dribbler. With the table set, Andy Pages delivered the go-ahead, three-run home run.
Gallen stayed in for two more hitters, who reached base on a hit and a walk before manager Torey Lovullo pulled his starter.
An inherited run scored off reliever Juan Morillo, and Gallen’s book closed as Morillo stranded the bases loaded.
Overall, Gallen threw well early against the toughest lineup he’ll see this season and ran into some bad fortune. The fastball velocity continued to tick up to 94 mph, and he induced five whiffs with the slider. But he did not keep the train on the tracks when it wobbled in his first start since re-signing with the D-backs this offseason.
Yamamoto, meanwhile, threw six innings with two earned runs on five hits.
Pitching woes
Overall, the Diamondbacks walked five batters and hit another two with pitches, way too many free baserunners for a lineup as deep as the Dodgers.
Clarke had a brutal re-debut after signing back with Arizona this offseason, allowing four runs while recording one out, which was a highlight-reel play …
Jordan Lawlar makes great catch in left field
A positive from Thursday’s loss was that Jordan Lawlar climbed the wall to rob Freddie Freeman of an extra-base hit in an otherwise disastrous seventh inning for the D-backs.
Lawlar made his MLB debut in the outfield and made several routine plays successfully.
On a slicing fly ball toward the bullpen, Lawlar tracked it back and timed his leap perfectly to pull the ball in. He only played three games in left field during spring training, spending most of his time in center.
Lawlar hit a double in his first at-bat on Thursday, although he was doubled off second base on a line drive to end the inning.
Well, at least that catch from Jordan Lawlar was quite impressive.
Taylor Clarke, however, allowed four runs while recording one out, and this game has gotten away from the Diamondbacks. 8-2 Dodgerspic.twitter.com/q0eplhh8at
— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) March 27, 2026
Corbin Carroll wins Diamondbacks’ 1st ABS challenge
This is the first year of Major League Baseball implementing the Automated Ball-Strike challenge system, and Corbin Carroll put the D-backs on the board with their first successful challenge.
On an 0-2 count in the first inning, Carroll took a cutter up-and-in from Yamamoto for a called strike three. Carroll tapped on his helmet to signal a challenge, and the pitch location showed up on the video board.
The ball missed the zone by 0.2 inches, just about as close to a strike as it could have been.
Carroll flew out, but he forced Yamamoto to throw another couple pitches.
This successful Corbin Carroll challenge was pretty nuts. pic.twitter.com/ZRYqH5bZii
— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) March 27, 2026
Reputation precedes Nolan Arenado
The Diamondbacks traded for third baseman Nolan Arenado primarily for his defense at the hot corner as a 10-time Gold Glover who still picks up the baseball better than most.
The second Dodgers batter of the game, Kyle Tucker, hit a sharp grounder to the left side. Arenado snagged it on a dive and threw to second to retire the lead runner. Gallen threw a scoreless inning after the web gem avoided having him face two runners on with nobody out.
Arenado made another highlight snare in the sixth inning to rob Hernandez of a single.
The veteran also recorded his first hit with Arizona on a single up the middle.
Nolan Arenado makes a diving play to take away what could have been Kyle Tucker's first hit as a Dodger pic.twitter.com/RuMZPxoEkm
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 27, 2026
Next game
The Diamondbacks and Dodgers continue their series on Friday at 7:10 p.m. MST. Ryne Nelson will pitch for Arizona with right-hander Emmet Sheehan on the mound for L.A.
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