List of Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day starting pitchers

For the Opening Day starting pitchers before 1958, see List of Brooklyn Dodgers Opening Day starting pitchers.
Clayton Kershaw was the Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitcher from 2011–2016.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Los Angeles. They play in the National League West division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season,[1] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.[2] The Dodgers have used 21 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 57 seasons in Los Angeles. The 21 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 25 wins, 25 losses and 8 no decisions.[3][4]

The Dodgers started playing in Los Angeles in 1958, after moving from Brooklyn.[5] The first Opening Day game for the Dodgers in Los Angeles was played in San Francisco against the San Francisco Giants on April 15, 1958.[3] California native Don Drysdale was the Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitcher that day, in a game the Dodgers lost 80.[3][6] Dodgers starting pitchers won both of their Opening Day starts in their first home ballpark in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Their Opening Day record in their current home park, Dodger Stadium, which opened in 1962, is ten wins, ten losses and six no decisions. That gives the Los Angeles Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitchers a total home record of twelve wins, ten losses and six no decisions. Their record in Opening Day road games is 10 wins, 14 losses and 2 no decisions.[3][4]

Drysdale would make seven Opening Day starts for the Dodgers between 1958 and 1969, a team record he shares with Don Sutton who accumulated them from 1972 through 1978.[3] Fernando Valenzuela, Clayton Kershaw, Ramón Martínez and Orel Hershiser have had at least four Opening Day starts, with six, six, five and four respectively.[3] Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, who won three Cy Young Awards during the 1960s, only made one Opening Day start for the Dodgers, in 1964.[3][7] Drysdale also holds the Los Angeles Dodgers record for most wins as an Opening Day starter, with five wins against two losses. Sutton has four wins and two losses, and one no decision.[3]

Kershaw (2011, 2013, 2014, 2016), Koufax (1964), Chan Ho Park (2001), Brad Penny (2008) and Hiroki Kuroda (2009) are the only Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day starting pitchers to have won all their Opening Day decisions, Martinez and Derek Lowe share the Los Angeles Dodgers record for most Opening Day losses, with three.[3] The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series championship in 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981 and 1988. Drysdale (1959, 1963 and 1965), and Fernando Valenzuela (1981 and 1988) were the Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitchers those years.[3] The Dodgers' starting pitcher won the Opening Day game in 1963, 1965 and 1981, but lost in 1959 and 1988.[8][9][10][11][12]

Key

Dodger Stadium has been the Los Angeles Dodgers' home field since 1962. Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitchers have a record there of nine wins, ten losses and five no decisions.
Season Each year is linked to an article about that particular Dodgers season.
W Win
L Loss
ND (W) No decision by starting pitcher; Dodgers won game
ND (L) No decision by starting pitcher; Dodgers lost game
Location Stadium in italics for home game
Final score Game score with Dodgers runs listed first
Pitcher (#) Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Dodgers
* Advanced to the post-season
** NL Champions
World Series Champions

Pitchers

Hiroki Kuroda was the Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2009.
Brad Penny was the Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2008.
Orel Hershiser made four Opening Day starts for the Dodgers in the 1980s and 1990s.
Chan Ho Park was the Dodgers' Opening Day starter in 2001.
Hideo Nomo made two Opening Day starts for the Dodgers in 2003 and 2004.
Season Pitcher Decision Final
score
Opponent Location Ref(s)
1958 Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale L 08 San Francisco Giants Seals Stadium [13]
1959 Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale (2) L 16 Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field [8]
1960 Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale (3) W 32 Chicago Cubs Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum [14]
1961 Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale (4) W 62 Philadelphia Phillies Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum [15]
1962 Podres, JohnnyJohnny Podres L 36 Cincinnati Reds Dodger Stadium [9]
1963 Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale (5) W 51 Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field [16]
1964 Koufax, SandySandy Koufax W 40 St. Louis Cardinals Dodger Stadium [17]
1965 Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale (6) W 61 New York Mets Shea Stadium [10]
1966** Osteen, ClaudeClaude Osteen W 32 Houston Astros Dodger Stadium [18]
1967 Miller, BobBob Miller L 16 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field [19]
1968 Osteen, ClaudeClaude Osteen (2) L 02 Philadelphia Phillies Dodger Stadium [20]
1969 Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale (7) W 32 Cincinnati Reds Dodger Stadium [21]
1970 Osteen, ClaudeClaude Osteen (3) L 04 Cincinnati Reds Dodger Stadium [22]
1971 Singer, BillBill Singer L 25 Houston Astros Astrodome [23]
1972 Sutton, DonDon Sutton W 31 Cincinnati Reds Riverfront Stadium [24]
1973 Sutton, DonDon Sutton (2) L 24 San Diego Padres San Diego Stadium [25]
1974** Sutton, DonDon Sutton (3) W 12 San Diego Padres Dodger Stadium [26]
1975 Sutton, DonDon Sutton (4) ND (L) 12 Cincinnati Reds Riverfront Stadium [27]
1976 Sutton, DonDon Sutton (5) L 24 San Francisco Giants Candlestick Park [28]
1977** Sutton, DonDon Sutton (6) W 51 San Francisco Giants Dodger Stadium [29]
1978** Sutton, DonDon Sutton (7) W 134 Atlanta Braves Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium [30]
1979 Hooton, BurtBurt Hooton ND (L) 34 San Diego Padres Dodger Stadium [31]
1980 Hooton, BurtBurt Hooton (2) L 23 Houston Astros Astrodome [32]
1981 Valenzuela, FernandoFernando Valenzuela W 20 Houston Astros Dodger Stadium [11]
1982 Reuss, JerryJerry Reuss ND (W) 43 San Francisco Giants Dodger Stadium [33]
1983* Valenzuela, FernandoFernando Valenzuela (2) ND (W) 167 Houston Astros Astrodome [34]
1984 Valenzuela, FernandoFernando Valenzuela (3) L 711 St. Louis Cardinals Dodger Stadium [35]
1985* Valenzuela, FernandoFernando Valenzuela (4) L 12 Houston Astros Astrodome [36]
1986 Valenzuela, FernandoFernando Valenzuela (5) W 21 San Diego Padres Dodger Stadium [37]
1987 Hershiser, OrelOrel Hershiser L 34 Houston Astros Astrodome [38]
1988 Valenzuela, FernandoFernando Valenzuela (6) L 15 San Francisco Giants Dodger Stadium [12]
1989 Belcher, TimTim Belcher L 46 Cincinnati Reds Riverfront Stadium [39]
1990 Hershiser, OrelOrel Hershiser (2) ND (W) 42 San Diego Padres Dodger Stadium [40]
1991 Belcher, TimTim Belcher (2) W 64 Atlanta Braves Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium [41]
1992 Martínez, RamónRamón Martínez L 18 San Francisco Giants Dodger Stadium [42]
1993 Hershiser, OrelOrel Hershiser (3) L 36 Florida Marlins Joe Robbie Stadium [43]
1994 Hershiser, OrelOrel Hershiser (4) ND (W) 43 Florida Marlins Dodger Stadium [44]
1995* Martínez, RamónRamón Martínez (2) W 87 Florida Marlins Joe Robbie Stadium [45]
1996* Martínez, RamónRamón Martínez (3) W 43 Houston Astros Astrodome [46]
1997 Martínez, RamónRamón Martínez (4) L 03 Philadelphia Phillies Dodger Stadium [47]
1998 Martínez, RamónRamón Martínez (5) L 06 St. Louis Cardinals Busch Memorial Stadium [48]
1999 Brown, KevinKevin Brown ND (W) 86 Arizona Diamondbacks Dodger Stadium [49]
2000 Brown, KevinKevin Brown (2) W 104 Montreal Expos Olympic Stadium [50]
2001 Park, Chan HoChan Ho Park W 10 Milwaukee Brewers Dodger Stadium [51]
2002 Brown, KevinKevin Brown (3) L 29 San Francisco Giants Dodger Stadium [52][53]
2003 Nomo, HideoHideo Nomo W 80 Arizona Diamondbacks Bank One Ballpark [54][55]
2004* Nomo, HideoHideo Nomo (2) L 28 San Diego Padres Dodger Stadium [56][57]
2005 Lowe, DerekDerek Lowe L 24 San Francisco Giants SBC Park [58][59]
2006* Lowe, DerekDerek Lowe (2) L 1011 Atlanta Braves Dodger Stadium [60][61]
2007 Lowe, DerekDerek Lowe (3) L 17 Milwaukee Brewers Miller Park [62][63]
2008* Penny, BradBrad Penny W 50 San Francisco Giants Dodger Stadium [64][65]
2009* Kuroda, HirokiHiroki Kuroda W 41 San Diego Padres Petco Park [4]
2010 Padilla, VicenteVicente Padilla L 511 Pittsburgh Pirates PNC Park [66]
2011 Kershaw, ClaytonClayton Kershaw W 21 San Francisco Giants Dodger Stadium [67]
2012 Kershaw, ClaytonClayton Kershaw (2) ND (W) 53 San Diego Padres Petco Park [68]
2013* Kershaw, ClaytonClayton Kershaw (3) W 40 San Francisco Giants Dodger Stadium [69]
2014* Kershaw, ClaytonClayton Kershaw (4) W 31 Arizona Diamondbacks Sydney Cricket Ground [70]
2015* Kershaw, ClaytonClayton Kershaw (5) ND (W) 63 San Diego Padres Dodger Stadium [71]
2016 * Kershaw, ClaytonClayton Kershaw (6) W 150 San Diego Padres Petco Park [72]

References

General

"Dodgers Opening Day Lineups". MLB.com. Retrieved 2008-10-02.  "Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Starters and Results". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-09-21. 

Specific
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  2. Dilbeck, Steve (February 24, 2014). "Dodgers may not start Clayton Kershaw in Sydney". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Starters and Results". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
  4. 1 2 3 "LA Dodgers 4, San Diego 1". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  5. "Los Angeles Dodgers History and Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
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  7. "Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
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  9. 1 2 "Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day 1962". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  10. 1 2 "Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day 1965". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  11. 1 2 "Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day 1981". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  12. 1 2 "Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day 1988". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
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  64. "Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day 2008". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
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