A historic undefeated streak by a reigning World Series champion ended on Friday. The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered their first loss of the season to the Philadelphia Phillies, again falling behind to the opposition, which is a concern for manager Dave Roberts.
The Dodgers bounced back on Saturday, improving to 9-1 after opening the season with eight straight wins. That eight-game win streak to start the season marked the most by a defending World Series champion in MLB history.
Previously, the record was seven, set by the 1933 New York Yankees. Los Angeles’ lineup, however, was silenced for much of the night.
Left-handed Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo tossed seven scoreless innings, and it wasn’t until Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth that the Dodgers were finally on the board.
After coming from behind on several occasions to start the 2025 MLB season, the Dodgers couldn’t pull out the magic as they did against the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves.
The mistakes and early errors don’t help. In the first inning against Philadelphia, starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto went to look Trea Turner back to second base. Turner broke for third, and as third baseman Miguel Rojas went to cover the bag, Yamamoto threw behind him.
“That was very regrettable,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “It was a very fundamental play.”
And yes, this loss and these errors, which are ruining the historic record, are disappointing. Roberts himself even mentioned that.
Following the Phillies’ series-opening loss, Roberts expressed concern about giving good teams like Philadelphia an early lead.
“We’ve gotten away with it some games early … When you give a good team outs and shorten the game, then it’s hard to win,” Roberts said (h/t The Athletic). “But this is something that we’ve got to get better at.”
On Saturday, the Dodgers fell behind 1-0 but managed to even the series with a comeback win. Los Angeles seems comfortable pulling off these comebacks, even if it’s not always by Roberts’ preference. With the series tied, the Phillies and Dodgers are now focused on securing the win on Sunday.
