Just before the Los Angeles Dodgers welcomed the Cleveland Guardians Monday afternoon, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker received their Silver Slugger Awards for 2025. Along with them, last year's Dodgers as a whole accepted their team Silver Slugger Award. 

Despite earning the award for the best offensive team in baseball, the Dodgers mustered just two runs in their 4-2 loss against Cleveland. 

There was some tension build up on the pitcher side in the series opener. 

All eyes were on 24-year-old Roki Sasaki. After showcasing a Spring to forget, the importance of starting off the 2026 season on the right foot was detrimental. 

"He's in a good headspace," manager Dave Roberts said before Sasaki took the mound on Monday. "Hopefully he can just get past all the spring and all of the inconsistencies of the spring and get to pitching when games matter.

"I think for me it's, we got to attack," Roberts said. "We have to attack and use his mix and try to be as efficient as possible and get length out of him as a starter." 

Well, it wasn't a pretty outing, but it's definitely something that Sasaki could build on. Sasaki recorded four innings, allowed one earned run, two walks, and struck out four. 

"I thought he did a much better job attacking tonight," Roberts said of Sasaki's season debut. 

Roberts revealed that Sasaki felt nervous coming into this start and Sasaki himself admitted that he had not been feeling confident into his outing. 

Although emotions took over, Roberts felt that Sasaki felt more comfortable on the mound and was very encouraged overall about his outing. 

He topped out at 99.5 mph and Guardians hitters were unable to put bat to ball on his off-speed stuff. His standout off speed pitch was his signature cutter, which he threw 22 times. 

Tanner Scott replaced Sasaki and was able to record a scoreless fifth inning, until newly appointed long reliever Justin Wrobleski imploded. 

Three straight singles opened up his inning in the seventh and he was one strike away from escaping the bases-loaded jam. Unfortunately, he walked Rhys Hoskins and immediately give up a two-run double to Daniel Schneemann. 

It took the Dodgers eight innings, but they would finally get on the board with a Mookie Betts RBI double that drove in Tucker. 

That would be all she wrote as the Dodgers chances for a ninth-inning comeback fell flat. 

Looking ahead to Tuesday, Ohtani makes his season debut on the mound, looking to even up the three-game series at one apiece. 

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