Shaking the sleep out of their old ballpark, awakening their urgency to end a title drought, the Dodgers majestically opened the 2017 baseball season Monday afternoon with a perfect two-part greeting.

Hello. Goodbye!

An hour into the opener against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, Joc Pederson hit a line drive that turned into a roar, hammering the ball into the right-field corner seats for a grand slam.

Two minutes later, Yasmani Grandal cranked up the volume by lofting a ball over the same fence just beyond the same spot.


Two innings later, Corey Seager turned Chavez Ravine into a dance party with a three-run homer into the left-field pavilion.

Three innings after that, Grandal sent those fans bouncing to the exits in exhausted joy by driving a ball into the empty left-field Dodgers bullpen.

The four home runs, a first in Dodgers’ history in an opener, quite possibly foreshadowed an unforgettable summer — struck on a day as cool as October but sunny with hope.

“With our guys, every night something special could happen,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, shaking his head and smiling after a 14-3 victory.


Their opening-day bats were so special — every starter hit safely, Grandal homered from each side of the plate, Pederson had five runs batted in — it was easy to forget the Dodgers also benefited from the planet’s best arm.

Yes, Clayton Kershaw pitched, and brilliantly, allowing just two hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts in remaining unbeaten in his seventh consecutive opening-day start.

“This is a lot of fun,’’ said Kershaw, sharing his manager’s smile. “A lot of fun to win, a lot of fun to get the edge off, to play in front of this crowd again.’’

Even against a Padres team so young and untested that the entire roster combined will be paid less than Kershaw this season — $33 million to $28 million — it was a powerful first step for a team hoping to still be chugging in late autumn for the first time in 29 years.


“We have a great team,’’ Kershaw acknowledged. “We have a good chance to win this thing.”

As usual, an afternoon of promise was framed with a bevy of memories, the Dodgers’ 60th opening day in Los Angeles marked by heroes present and missing.

The ceremonial first pitches were thrown by former manager Tom Lasorda and former Coliseum hitting hero Wally Moon, and there was a clear message in their aging and regal presence: Between them, they own all five Los Angeles Dodgers world championship rings.

1 / 37 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA APRIL 3, 2017-Dodgers Joc Pederson celebrates his grans slam against the Padres inthe 3rd inning during opening day at Dodger Stadium Monday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 37 Padres Travis Jankowski scores a run as Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal tries to catch an over throw in he 8th inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 37 Dodgers Corey Seager hits a three-run home run. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 37 Dodger’s pitcher Clayton Kershaw is congratulated in the dugout after scoring on Justin Turner’s double in the fourth inning. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 5 / 37 -Dodgers Yasmani Grandal, right, celebrates his second home run of the game with Logan Forsythe in the 8th inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 37 Dodgers Joc Pederson hits a grand slam against the Padres in the 3rd inning. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 37 Dodger’s Adrian Gonzalez is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Joc Pederson. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 8 / 37 Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager is congratulated after hitting a three-run homer in the fifth inning. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 9 / 37 Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson celebrates his grand slam with Manager Dave Roberts. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 37 Dodger’s Joc Pederson celebrates hitting a grand slam in the third inning against the Padres. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 11 / 37 A base runner touches first base during a game between the Dodgers and Padres during opening day, (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 37 After two Dodgers ended up on third base, Yasiel Puig tries to score but is tagged out at home by the Padres’ Wil Myers in the seventh inning. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 13 / 37 Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws a pitch against the Padres during opening day. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 37 Dodger’s Joc Pederson (31) is greeted by teammates, Logan Forsythe, Justin Turner and Adrian Gonzalez, from left, after hitting a grand slam in the third inning against the Padres. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 15 / 37 Dodgers 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez can’t handle the throw as Padres Will Myers reaches on an error in the 1st inning during opening day at Dodger Stadium. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 37 Dodgers Andrew Toles makes a catch as Corey Seager gets out of the way on a pop-up by Padres Ryan Schompf in the 1st inning during opening day at Dodger Stadium. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 37 Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws a pitch against the Padres in the 1st inning during opening day at Dodger Stadium. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 37 Dodger’s Yasiel Puig reacts after a check-swing was called a ball against the Padres. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 19 / 37 Dodger’s manager Dave Roberts looks over the dugout against the Padres. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 20 / 37 Fans stand for the singing of the national anthem during Opening Day at Dodger Stadium. (Christina House / Christina House) 21 / 37 LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 3, 2017: Fans relax on the upper deck before the Dodgers season opener against the San Diego Padres. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 22 / 37 A fan honors former Dodger announcer Vin Scully on the back of his head before opening day at Dodger Stadium. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 37 Joe Davis at his first regular-season Dodgers game as part of the announcing team, essentially replacing Vin Scully. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 24 / 37 Ernie Zepeda attends his 36th Dodgers season opener with a blue face. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 25 / 37 The bat of DodgerJoc Pederson sits inthe dugout before opening day at Dodger Stadium. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 37 Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw stretches before opening day at Dodger Stadium. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 37 Dodger great Fernando Valenzuela takes pictures with fans before the Dodgers season opener against the San Diego Padres. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 28 / 37 Fans attend Opening Day at Dodger Stadium. (Christina House / Christina House) 29 / 37 “Groupo Ondeado” performs at a house party on Vin Scully Avenue before the Dodgers’ season opener against the San Diego Padres. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 30 / 37 Jose Luis Macias of East Los Angeles cooks tacos for friends in Elysian Park before the Dodgers’ season opener against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. Macias said his arrived in the park at 5:15 a.m. to set up. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 31 / 37 Dodger fans ride a motorcycle through Elysian Park before the Dodgers’ season opener against the San Diego Padres. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 32 / 37 Francisco Munoz, of Bell, wears a hat with Dodger pins to the Dodgers season opener. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 33 / 37 Opening ceremonies for the Dodgers season opener against the San Diego Padres. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 34 / 37 Dodger fans listen to the band Groupo Ondeado play at a house party on Vin Scully Avenue before the Dodgers’ season opener. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 35 / 37 Jorge Hernandez, of Los Angeles, digs into carne asada fries before the Dodgers season opener. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 36 / 37 Juan Torres, of Whittier, tries on Dodger hats in the New Era Team Store before the Dodgers season. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) 37 / 37 Fireworks shoot in the air during the national anthem at the Dodgers season opener against the Padres at Dodger Stadium. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)


Shortly before their pitches, the first video was narrated by the recently retired Vin Scully, missing his first season after 67 years but still taking the time to offer a homage to opening day.

It was strange that Scully was absent from the booth and the media room, his distinctive voice available only through scoreboard video presentations. It was so strange that during the fifth inning, with the Dodgers leading 9-1, I sneaked away to the back of the press box to call him on his cellphone.

Surely he was at home, watching the television breathlessly, calling the action from his couch, missing the game as badly as it missed him?

“Today I was engaged in that other national pastime, paying bills,’’ Scully said with a laugh. “Then I went to the post office to mail them, and now I’m just leaving the carwash.’’


Opening day at the carwash?

“Some people did stop me and say it was strange to see me,’’ he said. “I told them I agree.’’

So was he headed home to at least watch the end of the game?

“I have to go to the hardware store to pick up some anti-moth product,” Scully said. “I’m not sure if I’ll get home in time to see it. Who’s winning?’’


He was told the Dodgers. He was asked if he was happy.

“Sure I am,’’ he said. “I’ve got a really clean car.’’

He then added, more seriously, that spending the afternoon living a normal life with his beloved wife Sandi was, for him, the perfect opening day.

“I’m aware that I’m not where I’ve been for about 60,000 years,’’ he said. “But I’m just where I want to be.’’


So are the Dodgers, who are beginning a mission that has been six months in the making.

Judging by the calendar, Monday was a long way from the last time they played an official game, on that chilly Oct. 22 night in Chicago’s Wrigley Field when they were knocked out of the playoffs in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.

Yet judging from their internal clocks, it was only minutes.

Bunkered in a tiny Wrigley clubhouse while a party raged around him last October, the Dodgers vowed to stick together and take that next step this season. Twenty-one of the 25 players in that clubhouse came back, a devoted group returning with such veteran focus that on Monday morning, Roberts didn’t even feel it necessary to give an opening-day pep talk.


“That feeling we had in Wrigley Field in the visiting clubhouse, I still feel that, and I know they do,’’ the manager said. “Where we’re at with the roster and being healthy, I don’t think we can envision us being in a better spot right now.’’

On the first day it counted, that spot was at the plate, on the mound, in the field and, perhaps most impressively, lodged somewhere over the fences. Four times. Farewell and welcome back.

bill.plaschke@latimes.com


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