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Alexander: A small sample size, but Dodgers will happily take it

March 29, 2026

LOS ANGELES – Championship Afterglow Weekend at Dodger Stadium is now in the books.

The 2025 championship pennant was raised on Opening Day, Thursday. (And maybe the Dodgers should display both the 2024 and ’25 banners on the center field flagpole, a reminder to both themselves and their opponents that they’re playing for history this year.)

Friday the players got their rings, and as customary, this year’s were more elaborate than the last. Saturday coaches, staff and non-uniformed personnel received their rings in an on-field ceremony, a nice touch for those who don’t always get the attention they might deserve.

And the conclusion from a successful weekend?

There’s 161 more of these to go. Buckle up.

As we’ve seen – and as was way too evident last July when the Dodgers lost 11 of 14 and the fan base veered toward panic – what might seem to be a juggernaut early is susceptible to slumps, attrition and pitching issues as the season plays out. Why else, for example, would the Dodgers have 25 pitchers listed on their 40-man roster? They used 40 each in 2024 and ’25.

But as an opening act, the three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks wasn’t bad at all. There were three come-from-behind victories, and two nights in which Dodger fans can again get accustomed to having a lockdown ninth-inning guy in their bullpen. And we saw another example of the Power of the Bobblehead – Will Smith’s majestic home run in the eighth Saturday night, a 414-foot shot over the center field fence that turned a one-run deficit into an ultimate 3-2 victory.

Among the ramifications there? Blake Treinen and Edwin Díaz were getting loose in the Dodgers bullpen during the bottom of the eighth, and as soon as Smith’s ball cleared the fence Treinen sat down and Díaz got serious. (More about that below.)

In Dodgers’ recent history alone, Manny Ramirez, Hanley Ramirez, Juan Uribe, Yasiel Puig, Howie Kendrick, Cody Bellinger (twice, including a two-homer game), Max Muncy, and Mookie Betts have all homered on their bobblehead nights. Manny’s, on July 22, 2009, was a pinch-hit grand slam that landed beyond the “Mannywood” sign on the facing of the left field box seats.

Can you imagine another player not starting on his bobblehead night? Originally Dave Roberts was going to give Smith Saturday night off, with the off-day coming up Sunday, but Smith – who was also celebrating his 31st birthday Saturday – talked his way back in.

“I just kind of dropped the bobblehead card” in their conversation, Smith said. Smart move.

The bobblehead was to commemorate that 11th inning home run in Game 7 last November 1 in Toronto, the one that made the Championship Afterglow possible. Maybe karma had something to do with that 2-2 four-seamer from Juan Morillo that Smith launched Saturday night.

Or maybe a knack for clutch hitting was involved. Smith is cool under pressure, but he’s not the only one in a dugout with a collection of battle-tested players.

Friday evening the new guy, Kyle Tucker, singled home Alex Freeland in the eighth to break a 4-4 tie, after Freeland and Mookie Betts had homered in the fourth inning to wipe out Arizona’s early 2-0 lead. The night before, Andy Pages’ three-run homer in the fifth wiped out a 2-0 Diamondbacks’ lead en route to an 8-2 Dodgers victory.

Speaking specifically of Smith, Roberts said: “I think the heartbeat makes him reliable in those situations (as well as) his ability to spoil pitches, to put the bat on the ball. He doesn’t chase very much. And so he trusts his swing to see the ball a little bit longer with two strikes in big moments. And then when he gets a pitch he can handle, then he feels convicted to take a good swing.”

But these Dodgers as a group do the little things that lead to the big things. I asked Roberts, given that his club was second in the majors in come-from-behind wins last year with 48, about the mood or approach in the dugout as those late-game situations develop.

“I think it’s just one pitch, one at-bat at a time,” he said. “I mean, you’re gonna hear this word a lot, it’s grinding. Just really trying to grind at bats, and trying to wait for these guys to make a mistake and not get yourself out.

“And that’s what we did, that’s what we’ll do in particular. But I think as far as the mood, just kind of hang in there, keep playing good defense. We got a good pitching performance from Tyler (Glasnow) tonight. The pen was really good, and then – you know, we were in it till the end.”

Ah, yes. The bullpen.

It was no secret why the Dodgers were depending on starting pitchers to close out games in the 2025 postseason after 27 blown saves, the seventh most in baseball – including an MLB leading 10 by Tanner Scott, on the first year of his four-year, $72 million contract.

So the signing of Díaz to a three-year, $69 million free agent deal could be considered throwing good money after bad, though if (as the Dodgers hope) Scott can reverse the nasty habit of throwing fat pitches in the zone after getting ahead in the count, his signing will look better.

So far so good in Scott’s two outings this season, 1-1/3 innings, no hits, one strikeout.

And so far so good for, Díaz, too: Two appearances, two saves, one baserunner allowed, no runs. Plus the best entrance ritual seen in Dodger Stadium since Eric Gagné’s heyday from 2002 through ’04, when Gagné compiled 152 saves in three seasons, including a record 84 in a row.

Gagne had “Welcome to the Jungle” as his entrance music and “Game Over” on the scoreboard. Díaz enters to the trumpet intro from the song “Narco” – and his live trumpeter here, Long Beach-born musician Tatiana Tate, is already becoming a fan favorite herself and may have a permanent gig in The Ravine at this rate.

The trumpet, the dimming of the lights and the rest of the showmanship are just a setup for the real show. If this keeps up Dodger fans will have a reason to stay all nine innings, just as they did when Gagné truly did represent game over.

“It’s just great to have one of if not the best closer in the game,” Roberts said. “You can see the anticipation with the fans. Right when Will hit the homer, everyone’s excited and they knew what else was to come.”

And this brings up an intriguing possibility: The Dodgers won a championship in 2024 with just three starting pitchers left standing. They won in 2025 with a bullpen Roberts couldn’t fully trust.

So how badly could they ruin baseball if they get both parts right this time?

jalexander@scng.com

Orange County Register

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Alexander: A small sample size, but Dodgers will happily take it

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