Champion Dodgers off to historic start, who's built to challenge them?

As of Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the first World Series champions to start a season 7 and 0 since the 1933 Yankees

Quite the accomplishment. Let's take a look at how they're doing it and whether or not this record start is sustainable

Not surprising with the starting staff they have, they are getting great pitching, even factoring in rookie Sassaki's early struggles

The offense is as expected as well. Six of their seven wins have come by two runs or more

and they're outscoring opponents 39 to 18 so far. Newcomer Michael Conforto says there are no weaknesses in the lineup

You know, when we have good hitter after good hitter, you know

it can be tiresome for the other team. I mean, you know, just constantly, you know

taking some good pitchers pitches, staying on some fast balls. Scary to think what things might look like when Freddie Freeman and Mooky Betts are fully healthy

Betts already has a walk-off homer this year after losing 20 pounds because of a stomach virus

The record for wins in a single season is 116 held by the 2001 Seattle Mariners

who lost to the Yankees in the American League Championship that year. In other words, it's a long season

And even with overwhelming numbers now there no guarantee that will lead to a second straight championship for the Dodgers In fact there are several teams who are raising their hands to say hey look at us we off to a hot start as well and we like to challenge the champs

Chief among them, L.A.'s division rival, the San Diego Padres, who are off to their own 7-0 start, the first in team history

They're outscoring opponents 31 to 9 and swept the surprisingly winless Atlanta Braves to open the season

Then they took care of the defending AL Central champion guardians, including a win for Kyle Hart, his first since 2020

Feels great. I mean, you know, listen to a good ball club. Off to a good start clearly, playing really good baseball, across the board, pitching, you know

graduation to Kyle getting his first big league win, solid five, doing all phases

You know, the pitching, the bullpen's been great. Situational hitting, defense, base running, everything's on point

And they're not the only two teams dialed in to start the year. The Giants in the same division are kids

keeping pace. In the American League, the Jays and Rangers lead the way, and the Yankees with their

torpedo bats have scored an MLB leading 41 runs in their fast start. Even with their hot start

the Dodgers are clearly not satisfied. Wednesday, they traded for some speed, getting Estuary Ruiz

from the A's. Ruiz set the American League rookie record for stolen bases in 2023. For Straight Arrow News

I'm Chris Francis