Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

By Joel Reyes

The Los Angeles Dodgers opened their title defense with a convincing 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday (PH time) at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. Andy Pages and Will Smith each blasted homers on Opening Day for the Dodgers, who are seeking their third consecutive World Series title this season.

Andy Pages gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead after hitting a three-run homer off Arizona pitcher Zac Gallen in the bottom of the fifth inning. Will Smith added an RBI single later in that inning before launching a deep fly ball to left center field for a two-run shot off Taylor Clarke in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who won the MVP award in last year’s World Series, picked up the victory after allowing just two runs on five hits in six innings of action. He struck out five batters. Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a walk in the victory.