Listen to Dodgers Opening Day festivities on The Home of the Dodgers, AM570 – LA Sports!
LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Dodgers will open the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday at Dodger Stadium with Magic Johnson throwing the ceremonial first pitch to culminate what the team is billing as a “dazzling Opening Day ceremony.”
Gospel singer Keith Williams Jr. will sing the national anthem, accompanied by a flyover from two F-35C planes from Air Test & Evaluation Squadron NINE from the Detachment Edwards Air Force Base.
The 2025 World Series emblem, adorned on the Right Field Reserve rafters, and the World Series flag will be raised in centerfield by members of the Dodger ownership group, which includes Johnson.
Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 4:45 p.m. for the pregame elements before the 5:30 p.m. game.
The Dodgers will present the World Series rings before Friday night’s game.
World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will pitch for the Dodgers while fellow right-hander Zac Gallen will pitch for the Diamondbacks.
Yamamoto was 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA in the 2025 regular season and was selected to play in the All-Star Game. The Dodgers were 17-13 in his starts.
Yamamoto was 5-1 in the postseason, including winning the final two games of the World Series to give the Dodgers their first back-to-back World Series championships.
Yamamoto is 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA against Arizona. The Dodgers have won five of the six games Yamamoto has pitched against the Diamondbacks.
Gallen was 13-15 with a 4.83 ERA in 2025. Arizona was 16-17 in his starts.
Gallen is 2-5 with a 3.90 ERA against the Dodgers.
Dodger designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is 3-for-12 with no RBIs against Gallen.
The Diamondbacks finished fourth in the five-team National League West in 2025 with an 80-82 record, three games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the race for the National League’s third and final wild-card playoff berth.
Arizona was 6-7 against the Dodgers in 2024, including 3-4 at Dodger Stadium.
The game will be televised by NBC. Recently retired Dodger pitching star Clayton Kershaw will join Bob Costas for the pregame show from Dodger Stadium. Dodger broadcaster Orel Hershiser will join Diamondbacks analyst Luis Gonzalez on the game telecast with Jason Benetti calling the play-by-play.
The biggest change at Dodger Stadium for 2026 is the field will have a corporate sponsor for the first time and will be known as UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium.
The agreement will give the Japanese-based global apparel retailer naming displays in various stadium locations including above the batter’s eye in center field, on the facade beneath the press box, and on the grass along the baselines.
An oversized 2025 World Series replica trophy, alongside the 2024 trophy, will be in the centerfield plaza throughout the season for fans to take pictures with. A four-foot-tall 2025 World Series ring will also be placed in the plaza.
A new, larger-than-life sized Fernando Valenzuela bobblehead will also be available for photo opportunities.
Habit Burger & Grill will open in the Centerfield Plaza. Three new food stands, Burger Slam, Chicken Change Up and a Grab n Go stand, will all debut in right field reserve section.
New food offerings will include a lunch box burger, described as “a modern take on a hamburger and peanut butter and jelly sandwich combo.”
New drink choices include watermelon habanero margarita, served in a Dodger blue water cooler cup.
Red Bull energy drinks will be available at various concession locations.
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