2018 LA Dodgers Roster, Stats, Schedule, Postseason And Results
After the franchise returned to the World Series for the first time in 29 years but failed to end the championship drought, the 2018 Los Angeles Dodgers hoped to complete the task and avoid a hangover.
Their efforts were undercut when Justin Turner was hit by a pitch in his left wrist and sustained a fracture late into Spring Training. Turner would miss the first six weeks of the season, during which the Dodgers struggled and fell behind in the National League West standings.
They ultimately overcame that deficit, won a sixth straight NL West title and made their way back to the World Series. They met the Boston Red Sox, who led the Majors in wins and mowed their way through the Dodgers to win a championship.
Regular season
Somewhat indicative of what lied ahead, the 2018 Dodgers began the season with back-to-back 1-0 losses to the rival San Francisco Giants. The team remained in a rut as they were without Turner, and as the losses piled up and he was still on the mend, Clayton Kershaw found himself on the injured list in early May because of left biceps tendinitis.
Kershaw later missed time in June due to a lower back issue.
Th Dodgers got off to the worst 40-game start in Los Angeles franchise history at 16-24, and their 16-26 start tied the worst in franchise history through 42 games.
Although the last two of those defeats were with Turner back in the lineup, the Dodgers then went on a four-game winning streak and went 10-4 over the final two weeks of May. That fed into a hot June in which L.A. was 17-9, and a 16-10 month of July.
Some of that came with Turner being placed on the IL due to a groin strain. By that point Cody Bellinger had emerged as an NL Rookie of the Year favorite and was helping power the lineup.
The Dodgers nonetheless pulled back into the NL West race and went into August just a half-game back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place. L.A. also played well in September, setting the stage for a showdown with the Colorado Rockies in a Game 163 that was to decide the NL West.
Since the start of a four-game series on Aug. 30 against the Diamondbacks, who at the time were in first place in the NL West, the Dodgers closed the season on a 20-10 run. They defeated the Rockies and claimed another division title.
Postseason
Upon winning the NL West, the Dodgers secured a spot in the NL Division Series for a matchup with the Atlanta Braves. Home-field advantage immediately paid off as L.A. won Games 1 and 2 to take a commanding series lead.
Atlanta managed to avoid being swept but were eliminated in Game 4 and the Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series a third consecutive year, which was a franchise record. Because the Dodgers struggled to begin the year, the Milwaukee Brewers finished with a better record and had home-field advantage.
However, the battle-tested Dodgers prevailed in a back-and-forth series. Other than L.A. winning Games 4 and 5, the NLCS never saw one team secure consecutive victories. Despite squandering an opportunity in Game 6 to avoid winner-take-all scenario, the Dodgers won the NLCS the next night at Miller Park.
Bellinger, who had a terrific diving catch and walk-off RBI single in Game 4, and a home run in Game 7, was named NLCS MVP.
The Dodgers’ need to heavily rely on a platoon with several of their left-handed hitters ultimately caught up to them in the World Series. Meanwhile, Boston operated like a well-oiled machine and won the title in five games.
Max Muncy’s walk-off home run in Game 3 breathed some life into the Dodgers, and they held a lead late in Game 4, but the bullpen failed to protect it and the team never recovered.
The Dodgers became the first team to lose back-to-back World Series since the Texas Rangers did so in 2010 and 2011, and the first NL team to suffer that fate since the Braves in 1991 and 1992.
