Heading into Game 8 of the 2025 MLB season, it looked like the Los Angeles Dodgers might see their win streak snapped before they placed themselves solo in the annals of baseball history.
Riding a seven-game win streak with victories over three teams expected to be competing for the playoffs this fall, the Dodgers were down 5-3 heading into the eighth with no guarantee they’d be sending their fans home happy.
But then, magic started to happen.
Michael Conforto got on base. Will Smith got on base, too. And Max Muncy, returning to his normal bat instead of his attempted transition to the torpedo, smashed it into the outfield for a game-tying double.
After Jack Dreyer worked his way through the ninth unscathed and set things up for Shohei Ohtani to smash one for the walkoff home run on his bobblehead night, closing out the game 6-5 and giving the Dodgers their best start to the season since the 1950s.
SHOHEI OHTANI WALKS IT OFF FOR THE DODGERS ON HIS BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT
The defending champs start the season 8-0!pic.twitter.com/nONRXi8p1y
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 3, 2025
Impressive? You bet, but when viewed in the context of MLB history, it’s all the more so, as their 8-0 start now marks the best start to a season by any reigning World Series Champion in baseball history, passing Babe Ruth and the 1933 Yankees with Ohtani’s bomb.
Taking the field for the second-straight game without Freddie Freeman, this was the first game that truly felt like a potential loss all season, with the Dodgers needing all hands on deck to manufacture enough runs to get where they want to be. And yet, in the end, they got it done, with “Shotime” in full swing just outside of Hollywood and the Dodgers getting a day off to fly to Philadelphia for their first road series stateside of the season against the Phillies.
Will the Dodgers be able to keep this run going and attack the all-time win streak to start the season, which sits at 13 and has been accomplished three times? Only time will tell, but considering how many different ways the Dodgers can beat opposing teams and the prospects of Freeman returning hanging just over the horizon, it’s really hard to bet against the reigning champions in any way.
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