A couple days ago, I was looking at the Nextdoor app to see what was going on with neighbors, porch thefts, lost animals, etc., and I saw terrified (multi-exclamation-pointed) posts about the tremendous roar of fighter jets passing low over Echo Park. “What did it mean? Are we at war?” Silly newbies! It’s Dodgers Opening Day!!!

Blue is definitely the predominant color in my neighborhood. When I used to take the bus home late at night from The Times, I always wore Dodger T-shirts or an LA beanie to let the homies on Echo Park Avenue know I was one of them. Now, the incoming hipsters are learning how important the Boys in Blue are to Echo Park. One trendy new bar is even offering free drinks to a certain sidelined shortstop. (Across the street from the gas station where I met Gavin Lux last year.)

This past week, the Dodgers have played 6 games and won 4 of them. Sunday (April 2), after going into the 9th tied, 1-1, reliever Brusdar Graterol screwed the pooch, and they lost to the D’backs, 2-1. But the good news was that starter Noah Syndergaard had a stellar 6-inning, 6K Dodger debut. BOX SCORE  

On Monday (April 3), Stephen and I climbed to our seats in the top row of the Top Deck, braving hurricane winds and icy temps, only to watch one inning and then leave because we were so freaking uncomfortable. We slunk off to the warmth of our little home, 1 mile away, and watched the rest of the game on TV. The final score was 13-4 over the Rockies. BOX SCORE 

And then last night (April 4), Stephen couldn’t come to the game with me due to other obligations, so he dropped me at the stadium to get the swag (2 hooded sweatshirts). 

I was supposed to watch a few innings, and then Stephen would pick me up. But I was having so much fun with my good friend Liz that I ended up watching the entire game! All 2 hours 25 minutes of it!

Julio Urías pitched great! He even got himself out of a no-outs, bases-loaded jam that looked like curtains for our boys early on. Thank heavens for double plays! 

All our runs were the result of homers (by Will Smith, Jason Heyward and Max Muncy). It looked like we were cruising to a 5-0 shutout, but reliever Phil Bickford did not have his best day. He started giving up runs in the top of the 9th, and it was too painful to watch, so I went to the bathroom. By the time I got out, “I Love L.A.” was blaring from the speakers, and Dodgertown was happy once more. Final score, 5-2. BOX SCORE

The main takeaway, in my opinion, about the first week of Dodger Baseball 2023, is that our starting pitching has been quite solid. (Knock on wood!) That’s a very good thing, because our bats are, game by game, either spicy hot or icy cold, so a good starter is the only thing that will keep us in the game during a freeze snap. Now, let’s hope our bullpen can rise to the occasion!