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Dodgers, Padres announce probable starters for season-opening games in South Korea

The Seoul Series will take place March 20 and 21 at Gocheok Sky Dome

Sean Leahy
Contributing writer
·3 min read
10

While the majority of the league won't begin their seasons until March 28, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will get an early start to the 2024 MLB season with a pair of games March 20 and 21 in Seoul, South Korea.

A little more than a week before they play ball, both teams announced Monday their probable starting pitchers for the games at Gocheok Sky Dome. The Dodgers will be showcasing the two new additions to their pitching staff right away.

Game 1: Tyler Glasnow vs. Yu Darvish — March 20, 6 a.m. ET
Game 2: Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Joe Musgrove — March 21, 6 a.m. ET

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Probable starters for Dodgers, Padres

A week after the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani, they acquired Glasnow as part of a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. The 30-year-old Glasnow then signed a five-year, $135 million contract extension following the completion of the trade. Glasnow made 21 starts for the Rays in 2023 and posted a 3.53 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 120 innings.

Not long after the Glasnow acquisition, the Dodgers opened the checkbook again and signed Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million contract. He was available after being posted and made available to MLB teams in November.

From 2021 to 2023, Yamamoto won a Japan Series title, a World Baseball Classic title, three pitching Triple Crowns, three Sawamura Awards (the Japanese Cy Young equivalent) and three Pacific League MVPs. He is the first player since Ichiro Suzuki to win three straight MVPs in NPB and only the second pitcher ever to win three, after Hisashi Yamada.

“First off, we feel both guys are top-end guys,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But if you look at the schedule for Yoshinobu going out, it sets up more for potential days of rest.”

For the Padres, Darvish will see his first action since his 2023 season ended in August due to a stress reaction in his right elbow. He did not require offseason surgery and was only told to not throw for a few months. In November, the 37-year-old Japan native was cleared to begin a throwing program.

This will be Darvish's first time in South Korea.

“Obviously, I’m very happy and honored about this,” Darvish said via MLB.com. “I’ve never been to Korea before, so that makes it even more special. … Just playing in Korea alone, that’s a big deal to me. But on top of that, we’re facing a very good team that made some very good additions.”

Musgrove's 2023 season also came to an early end due to injury after he was shut down in July because of right shoulder capsule inflammation. With Blake Snell still unsigned and likely not returning to San Diego, Musgrove and Darvish will be relied on to lead the Padres' staff.

Ohtani set to hit in Korea

While he won't pitch, Ohtani is expected to make his Dodgers debut next week and start as designated hitter.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said "rehab mode" is over for Ohtani as a hitter, and he expects Ohtani to play five of the team's nine spring training games before they head to Seoul.

“I think right now he’s in ‘prepare-for-the-season’ mode,” Roberts said. “Which is a good thing for all of us.”