Will Smith and the LA Dodgers are back in the USA after their 1-1 opening series with the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers roster and their families spent an exciting time in South Korea, with many imbibing the culture during their stay.
This appreciation of Korean culture was on display when Will Smith's wife, Cara, shared a photo on her Instagram stories of their daughter, Charlotte, in a traditional Korean hanbok.
"Char in her hanbok from Korea."
The team returned to the US with mixed feelings about their opening day games versus the Padres, as while they lost Game 2, they showed a lot of resilience and fight.
Dodgers take positives after Padres loss in Seoul Series
The Dodgers got off to a bad start in Game 2, as Yoshinobu Yamamoto struggled on his MLB debut before being pulled after one inning. In that inning, Yamamoto who is on a $325 million contract, threw 43 pitches and allowed five runs, finishing with a 45 ERA.
Yamamoto was honest with reporters after the game:
"I feel regret that I just couldn't keep the team in the game from the get-go, so I do feel the responsibility for it," Yamamoto said through an interpreter. "I just got to get ready for the next outing."
LA came away with a 15-11 defeat and given they had it all to do from the off, they kept pulling back, with big days from Mookie Betts and Will Smith with the bat. Across both games, Betts went 6-for-9, hitting a home run and seven RBIs. Smith recorded 5 hits, 1 run and 2 RBIs, batting at a .500 average in Seoul.
LA is on something a mini break after kicking off their season in South Korea, and while they have spring training fixtures, they next play an MLB game on March 28. They will face the St. Louis Cardinals, and given that the Dodgers have World Series ambitions that border on expectations, they will be looking to get off to a good start in the US.
For a team looking to go about their business with as few distractions as possible, they haven't been helped by the developing situation surrounding Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. Mizuhara is facing gambling and theft allegations and was terminated by the team after the story broke.
