2015 Los Angeles Dodgers season

MLB-Japan All-Star series

Yasiel Puig and Drew Butera participated in the 2014 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series during November 2014, playing a series of games against the Japan national baseball team.

Front office shakeup

On October 14, 2014, the Dodgers announced that Andrew Friedman would be joining the organization as President of Baseball Operations. Ned Colletti would also be stepping down as General Manager, but would remain with the team as a Special Adviser to President Stan Kasten. The Dodgers lost two more key personnel when amateur scouting director Logan White left for a position with the San Diego Padres and player personnel director De Jon Watson left to join the Arizona Diamondbacks. On November 6, they hired Farhan Zaidi as the new General Manager and Josh Byrnes as Senior Vice-President of Baseball Operations. The following day, they announced the hiring of former outfielder Gabe Kapler as Director of Player Development and Billy Gasparino as Director of Amateur Scouting.

Broadcasting

On September 30, 2014, the Dodgers announced that they had reached a multi-year agreement with radio broadcaster KLAC for the rights to the Dodgers broadcasts. The deal also included an ownership stake for the Dodgers in the radio station. The Dodgers made a change to their Spanish-language broadcasting team for the 2015 season. Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrín, entering his 57th season calling Dodgers games would be teamed with his son Jorge Jarrín on radio broadcasts on KTNQ. Pepe Yñiguez and Fernando Valenzuela, who had worked with Jorge Jarrin on the radio for several years would now call the games on the Spanish language feed of SportsNet LA, joined by former Dodger coach Manny Mota. It was later announced that former General Manager Ned Colletti would be joining the broadcast team as an occasional analyst. Charter Communications became the first additional cable outlet to carry the channel on June 9, increasing the carriage by around 300,000 households.

Departures

On October 7, 2014, starting pitcher Josh Beckett announced that he would be retiring from baseball. The Dodgers outrighted outfielder Roger Bernadina to the minors and he elected to become a free agent on October 14. On October 30, 2014, the day after the 2014 World Series ended, several Dodger players became free agents. They were shortstop Hanley Ramírez and pitchers Kevin Correia, Roberto Hernández, Paul Maholm, Chris Perez and Jamey Wright. The following day, they declined the 2015 option on starting pitcher Chad Billingsley, who had missed most of the previous two seasons with injury. Another former first round pick left the organization on November 3, when left-handed pitcher Scott Elbert elected to become a free agent after the Dodgers outrighted him to the minors. Also on that day, the club offered Ramirez a qualifying offer which he rejected and the club received a compensatory selection in the 2015 MLB Draft when he signed with the Boston Red Sox on November 25. The Chicago White Sox claimed relief pitcher Onelki García off waivers from the Dodgers on November 20. The Dodgers designated several players for assignment during the off-season including backup catcher Drew Butera and relief pitcher Jarret Martin. Butera was traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for a player to be named later or cash and minor league outfielder Matt Long was sent over from the Angels on December 18 to complete the trade. Long and Martin were then traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league catcher Shawn Zarraga. The Dodgers made the unusual move of designating relief pitcher Brian Wilson for assignment on December 16, despite owing him $10 million for the 2015 season.

Trades / acquisitions

The Dodgers on November 17, acquired minor league outfielder Kyle Jensen from the Miami Marlins for a player to be named later or cash considerations. (Single-A pitcher Craig Stem was sent to Miami to complete the deal on December 15.) On November 20, they acquired relief pitchers Joel Peralta and Adam Liberatore from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Jose Dominguez and minor leaguer Greg Harris. On November 22, the Dodgers acquired right handed pitcher Mike Bolsinger from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for cash consideration. A couple of days later, on November 24, they acquired right-handed pitcher Juan Nicasio from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. (Double-A outfielder Noel Cuevas was later sent to the Rockies to complete the trade.) On December 2, they added to the outfield depth by acquiring Chris Heisey from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for pitcher Matt Magill. The Dodgers claimed catcher/first baseman Ryan Lavarnway off waivers from the Boston Red Sox on December 5.

On December 10, the Dodgers traded second baseman Dee Gordon, starting pitcher Dan Haren, utility infielder Miguel Rojas and a player to be named later or cash to the Miami Marlins in exchange for starting pitcher Andrew Heaney, reliever Chris Hatcher, utility player Enrique Hernández and minor league catcher/infielder Austin Barnes. They then sent Heaney to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for second baseman Howie Kendrick. Lavarnway was designated for assignment to make room on the roster, and was later claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs.

On December 18, the Dodgers announced that they had traded two-time All-Star outfielder Matt Kemp and backup catcher Tim Federowicz to the San Diego Padres for catcher Yasmani Grandal and minor league pitchers Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin. The Dodgers also agreed to pay $32 million of the remaining $107 million in Kemp's contract. The deal was originally struck on December 11 but the Padres had concerns over Kemp's physical, which reportedly revealed that he had arthritis in both hips. They attempted to re-negotiate the deal at that point but the Dodgers said no and the swap was eventually finalized. They then sent Eflin and 2013 second round draft pick Tom Windle to the Philadelphia Phillies to acquire shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Jensen was designated for assignment to make room for Rollins.

Free agent signings

On December 16, starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy was signed to a four-year, $48 million, contract. On December 31, they signed another starting pitcher, Brett Anderson, to a one-year, $10 million, contract.

Spring training

The Dodgers began spring training at Camelback Ranch on February 19, 2015, when pitchers and catchers reported. They suffered their first significant injury of the season just before the start of camp when closer Kenley Jansen underwent surgery to remove a growth on his foot, sidelining him for all of camp and the start of the season. The Dodgers added to their depth with two additional free agent signings the first weekend of camp. They signed starting pitcher Brandon Beachy to a one-year, $2.75 million, contract that included a club option for 2016. Coming off Tommy John surgery, Beach was not expected to be ready to join the team until mid-season. They also signed pitcher Dustin McGowan to a one-year contract to add depth to the bullpen and possibly serve as a spot starter if needed. However, McGowan did not pitch well in spring training and was released at the end of March.

Position players arrived on February 25, with the first full squad workout the next day. The Cactus League schedule began on March 4. Starting pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu suffered from a sore shoulder and was shut down in mid-March. An MRI revealed no significant damage but he was shut down for a few weeks and would not make the Dodgers opening day roster. Reliever Brandon League also experienced shoulder pain that shut him down in March and jeopardized his season.

The Dodgers drew 147,066 fans to their 15 spring training games at Camelback Ranch, setting a new franchise spring training record.

April

Clayton Kershaw made his fifth straight opening day start for the Dodgers on April 6 against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium, the first Dodgers pitcher to do so since Don Sutton started seven in a row from 1972 through 1978. Former Dodger Matt Kemp had two hits, including a double, against his former team to drive in all three runs for the Padres as they jumped to the lead. Jimmy Rollins in his first regular season appearance with the Dodgers hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning as the Dodgers came from behind to claim a 6–3 win to start the season. In the second game, the Padres pounced on Dodgers reliever Chris Hatcher to score four-runs in the ninth inning and pull away for a 7–3 victory to even the series. In the last game, on April 9, Adrian Gonzalez had four hits in four at-bats, with three of them being solo homers as the Dodgers won 7–4. Gonzalez became the first player in MLB history to hit five home runs in his teams first three games.

The Dodgers started their first road trip of the season by losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks 4–3 in ten innings on April 10 at Chase Field. Diamondbacks pitcher Archie Bradley dominated the Dodgers in his first Major League start the next night, allowing only one hit and striking out six in six scoreless innings. Kershaw, in his second start, was charged with 10 hits and six runs in 6 1/3 innings as the Dodgers lost 6–0. Zack Greinke pitched seven shutout innings and the offense was led by rookies Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero, who both hit their first major league home runs, in a 7–4 victory on April 12 to avoid the sweep.

The Dodgers returned home on April 13 for an interleague series against the Seattle Mariners. Brandon McCarthy struck out 10 in seven innings but also allowed four home runs, the first player in MLB history with that stat line, while also allowing no walks. The Dodgers came from behind and won the game, 6–5, on a walk off hit by Guerrero in the 10th inning. The Dodgers fell behind early in the next game, as fill-in starter David Huff allowed back-to-back home runs in the top of the first. However, they battled back and won the game on a 2-run walk-off single by Howie Kendrick, 6–5. They completed the sweep with a 5–2 win over the Mariners on Jackie Robinson Day. Gonzalez had two more hits, setting a Dodgers team record with 19 in the first nine games of the season. Howie Kendrick homered and doubled and Adrian Gonzalez drove in a couple of RBIs as the Dodgers continued their winning streak with a 7–3 win over the Colorado Rockies. Kershaw struck out 12 in six innings to pick up his first win of the season. Gonzalez and Kendrick remained the hitting stars the next night as the Dodgers win streak reached six games with a 6–3 victory over the Rockies. Gonzalez matched Eric Karros (1995) for the most hits (23) by a Dodger through 11 games of the season and the Dodgers scored five or more runs in six straight games for the first time since May 17–22, 2012. The Dodgers completed the sweep of the Rockies with a 7–0 win on April 19 as Scott Van Slyke had two doubles and a homer. The Dodgers as a team had 10 extra base hits in the game, the first time at home since 2006.

The Dodgers went back on the road and saw the winning streak snapped with a 6–2 loss to the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. In the second game of the series, the Giants won again, 3–2, on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Joe Panik with the bases load. The Dodgers called up Mike Bolsinger from AAA Oklahoma City to start the final game of the series and he pitched well, allowing only one run in 5 2/3 innings. However the bullpen faltered and the Giants walked-off with another 3–2 win, this time in 10 innings, to complete the series sweep. Greinke struck out seven while allowing just four hits in seven scoreless innings as the Dodgers won the first game of the weekend series against the Padres at Petco Park, 3–0. The Dodgers hit four home runs on April 25 as they won a slugfest with the Padres, 11–8. Andre Ethier's home run and three hits on the night gave him 22 homers and 143 hits in his career against San Diego, the most by any player against that team. The victory was a costly one, however, as starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy suffered a torn Ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, a season-ending injury. Scott Baker was called up from Oklahoma City to start the next game and pitched well but the offense failed to produce and the Dodgers lost the final game of the road trip, 3–1.

The Dodgers returned home on April 27 to play the Giants. Joc Pederson and Justin Turner each homered in the 8–3 win to extend the home winning streak to eight games, the longest since the 2009 season. The Dodgers scored at least five runs in each of those eight wins, the longest such streak in franchise history. Both streaks were snapped the next night as Kershaw allowed only two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts but was out performed by Madison Bumgarner who allowed only one run on five hits with nine strikeouts in eight innings. The Giants won 2–1. The Dodgers hit four home runs to win the final game of the series, 7–3, and end the month of April with a Major League leading 32 home runs in 21 games.

May

Carlos Frías pitched 5 ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings in his first start of the season, and rookie Joc Pederson hit a grand slam home run as the Dodgers opened the month of May with an 8–0 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers came from behind to take game two of the series, 6–4. Pederson homered again, becoming the first Dodgers rookie since Bill Sudakis in the 1969 season to homer in four straight ballgames. A walk-off homer by Yasmani Grandal in the 13th inning gave the Dodgers a 1–0 win on May 3 and the sweep of the Diamondbacks. The game was the longest scoreless duel between the two teams since the game on June 2, 2010, ended in the 14th inning.

The Dodgers next opened a series at Miller Park against the Milwaukee Brewers. In the opener Clayton Kershaw held the Brewers to a run on three hits through seven innings, but he then allowed a homer and double to lead off the eighth. Relief pitcher Chris Hatcher allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to score and the Dodgers dropped the opener of the series 4–3. That snapped a string of 26 consecutive scoreless innings for the Dodger bullpen. Zack Greinke held the Brewers to an unearned run and two hits in 7 ²⁄₃ innings to pick up his 10th straight win (dating back to the previous August). Justin Turner hit a three-run homer and Jimmy Rollins and Adrian Gonzalez each hit two-run homers as the Dodgers won the second game 8–2. The following day, Joc Pederson homered twice but the Brewers scored five runs in the first inning off of Joe Wieland, who was making his first start of the season after being called up from the minors. The Brewers held on to win 6–3. Yasmani Grandal hit two three run home runs and recorded a career high of eight RBIs in the Dodgers 14–4 rout of the Brewers to split the series. The team traveled to Coors Field to play the Colorado Rockies on May 8, and won 2–1 in a game that was halted after one out in the top of the sixth due to rain. The rain continued through the weekend, forcing the middle game of the series to be postponed. The last game was played and Justin Turner's two-run homer broke a tie at the top of the eight inning and led the Dodgers to a 9–5 win.

The Dodgers returned home on May 12 and Greinke pitched well, allowing only one run in seven innings, but the Miami Marlins came back with a two-run homer by Christian Yelich off Yimi García in the top of ninth to put them ahead. Scott Van Slyke then hit a three-run walk-off homer off Marlins closer Steve Cishek for the 5–3 win. In the following game, Andre Ethier had five hits, including a home run, and the Dodgers scored 11 runs on 21 hits to rout the Marlins and former Dodger Dan Haren 11–1. Former Dodger Dee Gordon had four hits and scored twice and Giancarlo Stanton drove in three runs as the Marlins came from behind, in a three run seventh inning, to beat the Dodgers 5–4 to avoid the sweep. In the next game, the Rockies also came from behind as Carlos González hit a three-run homer off Yimi Garcia in the ninth inning to give them a 5–4 win, snapping the Dodgers nine-game winning streak against the Rockies. It was Garcia's second blown save of the week. Kershaw struck out 10 batters while allowing three runs in 6 ²⁄₃ innings on May 15 to pick up his 100th career win in a 6–4 victory over the Rockies. Jimmy Rollins had four hits and two RBI in the game. In the following game, Greinke's win streak came to an end as the Dodgers were only able to get three hits off of Jorge de la Rosa and the Rockies bullpen. Greinke only allowed one run on four hits in six innings but the bullpen allowed the close game to become a rout and the Dodgers lost 7–1. The Dodgers earned a series split when Yasmani Grandal's RBI single drove in the only run in a 1–0 victory over the Rockies on May 17.

The Dodgers returned to AT&T Park on May 19 and were shut out by Tim Hudson and the Giants 2–0. They were again unable to score the following night as Tim Lincecum and the Giants blanked the Dodgers 4–0. In the third game, it was Madison Bumgarner's turn to silence the Dodgers bats and he also hit a solo homer in the Giants 4–0 win to complete the sweep. This was the second scoreless sweep by the Giants over the Dodgers in four years and tied the franchise record for consecutive shutouts (three) that had been done four other times. The Dodgers also tied a franchise record for the lowest scoring five game period (two) that had also been set four times before. This was the first time the Dodgers had been swept in back-to-back road series at San Francisco since 1961.

Back at Dodger Stadium, the scoreless streak reached 35 innings (tying a Los Angeles Dodgers record set in 1962) before they finally scored a run in the fifth inning on an RBI double by Andre Ethier. Greinke allowed only one run on six hits in 7 ²⁄₃ innings but was out of the game when Joc Pederson hit the tie-breaking solo homer in the eighth inning to give the Dodgers a 2–1 victory over the San Diego Padres. On May 23, Mike Bolsinger allowed a lead off single to open the game and then retired the next 23 batters he faced, shutting down the Padres offense over eight innings. Closer Kenley Jansen retired the side in order in the ninth. The two of them combined to face the minimum 27 batters in the game, the first time the Dodgers had done such a feat since Odalis Pérez pitched a one-hitter against the Cubs on April 26, 2002. Pederson homered again, leading off the bottom of the first, and the Dodgers won 2–0. Carlos Frias had a poor outing the following day, tying a L.A. Dodger record by allowing 10 earned runs in only four innings in a game eventually won by the Padres 11–3. The Dodgers hit three home runs in the eighth inning on Memorial Day to break open a tied game and defeat the Atlanta Braves 6–3. Kershaw struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings the following day and the Dodgers scored six runs in the fourth inning off Julio Teherán as they rolled to an 8–0 victory. Adrian Gonzalez two-run home run that inning accounted for the 1,000th and 1,001st RBI of his career. Zack Greinke allowed only one run on three hits over six innings while striking out nine in the final game of the homestand. However, the Braves scored twice off the Dodgers bullpen in the eighth inning for a 3–2 win.

The Dodgers were shut out 3–0 by the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on May 29 as John Lackey struck out nine in seven innings. This was the fourth straight road game that the Dodgers were shut out (the longest streak in franchise history), and they fell out of first place for the first time since April 15. Michael Wacha held the Dodgers hitless through five innings in the next game, extending the Dodgers' road scoreless innings streak to a franchise-record 42 innings, breaking the mark previously set by the 1908 Brooklyn Superbas. They finally scored in the sixth inning, with a three-run homer by Yasmani Grandal. Carlos Frias allowed only one unearned run in a career-high seven innings, as the Dodgers won 5–1. The team struggled on offense again the next day, managing only two hits in a 3–1 loss to the Cardinals to wrap up the month of May.

June

The Dodgers opened the month of June with an 11–4 win over the Rockies on the road. Clayton Kershaw allowed only two earned runs in seven innings, while also recording three hits and an RBI. Andre Ethier, Jimmy Rollins, Howie Kendrick, and Joc Pederson all homered in the win. The Dodgers and Rockies played a doubleheader on June 2, a result of the rain-out the previous time they met in Denver. In the first game, Michael McKenry homered, doubled, and drove in three runs and the Rockies won 6–3. In the second game, Alex Guerrero hit a grand slam home run in the ninth inning to give the Dodgers the 9–8 win. This was the first go-ahead grand slam by the Dodgers with two out in the ninth inning or later since Nomar Garciaparra hit one in 2006. Joc Pederson homered in both games of the doubleheader, giving him four straight games with a home run. His second homer on this day was estimated at 480 feet, the longest in the Majors at that point. He homered again in the next game, the first rookie in history to homer in five straight games and tying the Dodgers franchise record (shared with Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Kemp, Shawn Green, and Roy Campanella). The Dodgers lost the game 7–6 when the bullpen coughed up the lead in the ninth as four relievers were only able to record one out.

Back home, the Dodgers lost to the Cardinals 7–1 as Michael Wacha shut down their offense. Two runs in the eighth inning led to a 2–1 loss the next night. Kershaw allowed only one hit in eight innings while striking out 11 on June 6 as the Dodgers came up with a 2–0 win to end their brief skid. Zack Greinke pitched 6 ²⁄₃ innings and only allowed one run while striking out eight in the series finale, however the bullpen again coughed up the lead in the eighth inning and the Dodgers lost 4–2. This was the first home series loss by the Dodgers since August 2014, the longest such span in the Majors during that time. Andre Ethier and Jimmy Rollins each hit three-run home runs to back strong pitching by Mike Bolsinger as the Dodgers routed the Diamondbacks 9–3 in the next game. Howie Kendrick homered and drove in all three runs in the Dodgers 3–1 win over the Diamondbacks on June 9. The Dodgers wrapped up the homestand with a 7–6 win over the Diamondbacks. Yasiel Puig was 4-for-4 with a homer and a walk as the Dodgers won on a walk-off RBI single by Kendrick.

In the opening game of the next series, against the Padres, Kershaw allowed only one run in 6 ²⁄₃ innings while striking out 11 and left with a one-run lead. The bullpen allowed two runs in the eighth to blow the lead but the Dodgers retook the lead in the bottom of the inning and they won 4–3. In the following game, Zack Greinke pitched an eight-inning complete game but the Dodgers offense failed to score more than a single run and a solo homer by Justin Upton in the eighth inning gave the Padres a 2–1 win. In the series finale, the Padres jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the fifth but the Dodgers tied it up on a solo homer by Andre Ethier and an RBI double by Adrian Gonzalez. Pederson made a tough catch on a long line drive by Upton in the ninth to send the game into extra innings where the Dodgers won the game 4–2 on a two-run single by Gonzalez in the 12th. The team next traveled to Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas for a short series against the Texas Rangers. Carlos Frías pitched five scoreless innings to start the game, but fell apart in the sixth when the Rangers scored four runs to win the game 4–1. The offense remained lifeless the following day, unable to score against rookie Chi Chi Gonzalez until Justin Turner tied the game up with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth. However, Robinson Chirinos hit a walk-off homer off Josh Ravin in the bottom of the inning and the Rangers swept the brief two-game series with a 3–2 win.

Back at Dodger Stadium, rookie Joey Gallo hit a two-run homer and the Rangers jumped on Kershaw early and went on to win 5–3. Pinch runner Kike Hernández scored on a balk by Keone Kela in the bottom of the ninth as the Dodgers snapped their three-game losing streak with a 1–0 win over the Rangers. Justin Turner had three hits in three at-bats with a homer against the Giants on June 19, but a grand slam by Buster Posey set the Giants up for a 9–5 win. In the next game, the Dodgers got back-to-back first-inning home runs from Joc Pederson and Justin Turner, but it wasn't enough as the Giants won 6–2. The Dodgers finally broke open the offense on June 21, as Yasmani Grandal hit two homers, Gonzalez and Turner also homered, and the team won 10–2. It was the third straight game Turner homered, the longest streak of his career, and Grandal became the first Dodgers catcher with two home runs and a bunt single in one game since Roy Campanella on August 30, 1955.

The Dodgers went back of the road on June 22 for a series at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs, who hit five home runs off Dodgers starters, including two by rookie Kris Bryant. Joc Pederson homered for the Dodgers in the ninth inning for his 19th of the season, a new Dodgers rookie record for home runs hit before the all-star break, but it wasn't enough as the Dodgers lost 4–2. Greinke's winless streak continued the next day, despite his not allowing a single run in his six innings of work. The Cubs beat the Dodgers 1–0 on a sacrifice fly by Chris Denorfia in the bottom of the 10th inning. A solo homer by Adrian Gonzalez and a three-run shot by Justin Turner led the Dodgers to a 5–2 win in the following game. The home run was Turner's tenth of the season, giving the Dodgers five players (Pederson, Gonzalez, Grandal, Guerrero and Turner) with 10 or more home runs before the All-Star break, the first time they accomplished that since the 2000 season (Gary Sheffield, Eric Karros, Todd Hundley, Shawn Green and Kevin Elster). Carlos Frías and the bullpen shut down the Cubs as the Dodgers won 4–0 to earn a split of the four game series. Brett Anderson struck out 10, Scott Van Slyke hit a two-run homer and the Dodgers routed the Miami Marlins 7–1 at Marlins Park on June 26. The brief winning streak came to an end the next day as a pair of costly errors by Ethier and Pederson allowed two unearned runs to score in the first inning. Kershaw struck out nine in seven innings but also lost his third straight decision for the first time in his career as the Dodgers fell to the Marlins 3–2. Zack Greinke pitched another 7 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings on June 28, running his scoreless streak to 20 ²⁄₃ innings. He also became the first Dodger pitcher to last at least six innings in his first 16 starts of the season since Mike Morgan in 1991. The Dodgers managed to score two runs for a 2–0 win to give him his first win since May 5. The team traveled to Chase Field to close out the month against the Diamondbacks. Bolsinger pitched four scoreless innings but had to leave the game because he was ill with food poisoning. Joc Pederson hit his 20th homer but the bullpen allowed three two-run homers and the Dodgers lost 10–6. Six Dodgers relievers allowed at least two runners to reach base, tying a Dodgers franchise record last set in 1950 and they also tied a franchise record with four relievers allowing at least two runs each. On the more positive side, Pederson's homer was the Dodgers' 100th of the season and a later solo shot by Andre Ethier gave the Dodgers six players with double digit homers before the All-Star break for only the third time in franchise history (1977 and 1979). Howie Kendrick had four hits, including the go-ahead home run in the tenth inning and Yasmani Grandal had four RBI including a homer of his own as the Dodgers wrapped up the month of June with a 6–4 victory over the Diamondbacks. Kenley Jansen walked David Peralta with two outs in the ninth, ending his streak of 27 strikeouts before his first walk of the season, eight shy of the major league record set by Adam Wainwright in 2013.

July

The Dodgers started the month of July by beating the Diamondbacks 4–3 to end their long road trip. Kiké Hernández was a homer shy of the cycle and Brett Anderson pitched seven strong innings in the win.

The Dodgers returned home from the road trip to play the New York Mets. They lost the opener 2–1 on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. Zack Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings on Independence Day, his fourth consecutive start without allowing a run, trailing only Orel Hershiser and Don Drysdale who had six game streaks in 1988 and 1968 respectively. The bullpen allowed some runs but the team held on for a 4–3 win. However, Mets starter Steven Matz stymied the Dodgers offense the next day, combining with reliever Logan Verrett on a three-hit shutout. The Mets routed the Dodgers 8–0. The last-place Philadelphia Phillies came to town next. With Carlos Frías going on the disabled list, the Dodgers went with a bullpen game on July 6, which led to a high scoring game. Howie Kendrick had four hits and former Phillie Jimmy Rollins was two for four and drove in the go ahead runs in the seventh as the Dodgers won 10–7. Former Dodger Chad Billingsley allowed only two runs and six hits against his former club for his first win since April 10, 2013. The Phillies jumped all over the Dodgers for a 7–2 win. In the next game, Clayton Kershaw struck out 13 while pitching a complete game shutout and A.J. Ellis had three hits including his first home run of the season as the Dodgers won 5–0. Greinke allowed only one hit in eight scoreless innings as the Dodgers won the series finale 6–0. Along with extending his scoreless streak to 35  ²⁄₃ innings, Greinke's ERA of 1.39 was the second lowest by a Dodgers pitcher before the All-Star break (trailing only Drysdale's 1.37 from 1968. The Dodgers began their final series before the break with a 3–2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Brandon Beachy made his first start since 2013 on July 11, returning to the majors after two Tommy John surgerys. He allowed three runs on five hits in four innings and a poor performance by the bullpen contributed to the 7–1 loss. A two-run home run by Adrian Gonzalez in the eighth gave the Dodgers a 4–3 win over the Brewers in the final game before the break.

The Dodgers had five players selected to participate in the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game: pitchers Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, catcher Yasmani Grandal and outfielder Joc Pederson. Greinke and Pederson were chosen to start the game and Pederson also participated in the Home Run Derby. Pederson was the first Dodgers rookie position player ever to start in the All-Star game.

The Dodgers resumed play after the break on July 17 at Nationals Park against the Washington Nationals. The first game was suspended twice because of electrical problems at the park and was eventually halted in the sixth inning and resumed the following day. Matt den Dekker's pinch hit two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning wound up being the difference in the 5–3 Nationals win. In the second game, Kershaw struck out a season high 14 batters in eight shutout innings as the Dodgers won 4–2. He became the first Dodgers starter with back-to-back games of at least 13 strikeouts since Chan Ho Park in 2000 and the first Dodgers pitcher with back-to-back games of double-digit strikeouts and no walks since Dazzy Vance in 1930. Greinke picked up right where he left off in his first start of the second half, allowing only three hits and one walk in eight scoreless innings, while striking out a season high 11 batters. The Dodgers won 5–0. Combined with the previous start by Kershaw, this was the first time the Dodgers had back-to-back starts of at least eight scoreless innings and double-digit strikeouts since at least 1914. The Dodgers next lost to the Atlanta Braves, 7–5, at Turner Field. Former Dodger Juan Uribe drove in the winning run in the Braves 4–3 win the next day. Mike Bolsinger only allowed one run on three hits in seven innings and retired 14 consecutive batters at one point as the Dodgers avoided the sweep with a 3–1 win in the series finale. Kershaw threw a three-hit complete game shutout against the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 23, while striking out 11. He was the first Dodgers starter with two shutouts in the same month since Carlos Pérez in 1998 and the first pitcher dating back to 1900 to have three straight starts with double-digit strikeouts, no walks and no runs allowed. Ian Thomas made a spot start on July 24 and allowed only one run on three hits in five innings while Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig and Jimmy Rollins homered in the Dodgers 7–2 win. Rollins homer was his 10th of the season, giving the Dodgers seven players with double digit homers for the first time since 2008. The Dodgers 2010 first round draft pick Zach Lee made his major league debut to start the July 25 game against the Mets, but performed poorly. He allowed seven runs in 4 ²⁄₃ innings in the Dodgers 15–2 loss. He was the first Dodgers starting pitcher to allow seven runs in his debut since Johnny Babich in 1934 and the first to allow four runs or more in the first inning of his debut since Frank Wurm in 1944. Greinke's scoreless streak ended at 45 ²⁄₃ innings when he allowed two runs to score on July 26 against the Mets. A walk-off single by Juan Uribe, who had been traded to the Mets the day before, gave the Mets a 3–2 win in 10 innings.

Back at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers lost 2–0 to the Oakland Athletics as Sonny Gray pitched a complete game three hit shutout. The next day, the Dodgers scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth to come from behind and defeat the Athletics 10–7. Greinke allowed two runs in eight innings while striking out eight and Howie Kendrick and Alex Guerrero homered as the Dodgers wrapped up the month of July with a 5–3 win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

August

Clayton Kershaw allowed only two hits in eight scoreless innings against the Angels on August 1, as the Dodgers started the month with a 3–1 victory. Kershaw became the first pitcher with multiple streaks of 37 or more scoreless innings since Luis Tiant in 1968 and 1972. The Dodgers acquired starting pitcher Mat Latos in a deadline day trade with the Miami Marlins and he made his team debut by allowing just one run on four hits in six innings. Andre Ethier hit two homers in the game, including a walk-off two-run blast in the tenth inning as the Dodgers won 5–3 to complete their first three-game sweep of the Angels since 2006.

Another recent trade acquisition, Alex Wood took the mound for the Dodgers in the opener of a series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. He allowed four runs in 6 ¹⁄₃ innings and Maikel Franco hit a grand slam home run off of reliever Joel Peralta as the Phillies won 6–2. The next day, Yasiel Puig hit a three-run homer to lead the Dodgers to a 4–3 win. In the series finale, Zack Greinke allowed a season high five runs in the first inning but had three hits, including a home run, as the Dodgers came from behind and won 10–8. A based-loaded walk-off single by Pedro Álvarez in the 10th inning gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5–4 win over the Dodgers at PNC Park on August 7. The following day, Mat Latos gave up a three-run home run to opposing starter Francisco Liriano, and the Dodgers couldn't rally against the Pirates bullpen as they lost 6–5. In the final game, the Pirates erupted for nine runs off the Dodgers bullpen in the seventh inning to come from behind and rout the Dodgers 13–6 to sweep the series. Dodger reliever Jim Johnson was the first Dodgers pitcher to allow eight runs in one or fewer innings since Fred Heimach in 1933.

The Washington Nationals scored five runs in the sixth inning off Brett Anderson and pulled away for an 8–3 rout of the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 10. Greinke got back on track in his next start with six scoreless innings while Puig hit a two run home run and a three RBI triple to drive in all the Dodgers runs in a 5–0 win. In the following game, Kershaw allowed just three hits over eight scoreless innings in the Dodgers 3–0 win to take the series. He picked up his 200th strikeout in the game, the sixth straight season he had passed that mark. He became the 10th pitcher in MLB history to accomplish that feat and only the second Dodger (after Sandy Koufax). Billy Hamilton had four hits in four at-bats, including a homerun, and Brandon Phillips and Eugenio Suárez combined for seven RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds beat up on Mat Latos and the Dodgers 10–3 on August 13. The next day, Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer and Alex Wood picked up his first win as a Dodger, 5–3. The Dodgers won 8–3 the following day thanks to four home runs. Puig hit his 10th homer, giving the Dodgers eight players in double digit homers on the season, one shy of the club record. Greinke allowed one run in seven innings and also hit a solo homer in the Dodgers 2–1 win over the Reds on August 16.

A.J. Ellis hit a three-run homer to give the Dodgers the lead but the bullpen faltered late and the Dodgers lost 5–4 to the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum on a walk-off double by Billy Butler in the 10th inning. Jesse Chavez allowed just two hits to the Dodgers (including a two-run homer by Jimmy Rollins and the A's finished off the two game series with a 5–2 win. The Dodgers offense was even worse in the next game, as they were no-hit by Mike Fiers of the Houston Astros 3–0, the first no-hitter in the history of Minute Maid Park. The Astros hit two home runs off Greinke to end his string of 11 unbeaten starts the next day, 3–1. Clayton Kershaw allowed only one run in eight innings with ten strikeouts in the series finale. However, the Astros tied the game against Kenley Jansen in the ninth and won, 3–2, on a walk-off homer by Jason Castro in the 10th to send the Dodgers to their fifth straight loss. They headed to Great American Ball Park to open a series against the Reds, where they won 5–1 to end the losing streak. The Dodgers hit three home runs in the fourth inning the next night to beat the Reds 7–4 and they completed the sweep with a 1–0 afternoon win the following day. Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and with his 10th scoreless start of six innings or more matched Kershaw and Don Sutton for second most in team history behind Sandy Koufax (13).

Back home on August 28, Kershaw struck out 14 in eight innings and the Dodgers picked up their fourth straight win, 4–1, over the Chicago Cubs. The Dodgers won again the next day, 5–2, thanks to a two-run single by Andre Ethier in the seventh inning. However, they lost the final game of the series, 2–0, when Kris Bryant hit a two-run homer and Jake Arrieta no-hit them, the second time the Dodgers had been no hit in the last week. The Dodgers finished the month with a 5–4 victory over the San Francisco Giants in 14 innings. Adrian Gonzalez, who had earlier hit a two-run homer, provided the walk-off hit.

September / October

September began with a good pitching matchup between Zach Greinke and Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. The Dodgers, thanks to a solo homer by Joc Pederson held on to win the game 2–1. Chase Utley hit his first home run as a Dodger and Clayton Kershaw tied a career high with 15 strikeouts in a 2–1 complete game victory to complete the Dodgers sweep of the Giants.

The traveled to play the San Diego Padres at Petco Park the following day. Top prospect Corey Seager made his Dodgers debut and was two for four with two RBI but Mat Latos and the bullpen struggled as the Dodgers lost 10–7. They then hit five homers on September 4 to beat the Padres 8–4. Alex Wood pitched seven scoreless innings in the Dodgers 2–0 win the following day. The Dodgers capitalized on a three-run error by Padres reliever Nick Vincent to win the final game of the series, 5–1. Scott Van Slyke had four hits, including two doubles, and four RBIs as the Dodgers beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 7–5 at Angel Stadium on Labor Day. The following day, Kershaw held the Angels to two runs in seven innings and the Dodgers ran their win streak to five games with a 6–4 win. Albert Pujols hit a tie-breaking RBI single in the eighth inning and the Angels won the final game of the series, 3–2. The Dodgers next traveled to Chase Field for a matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Welington Castillo hit a three-run homer in the first inning and the Diamondbacks piled on with six runs in the second to rout the Dodgers 12–4. Seager was 4-for-4 with a walk and his first major league home run in the Dodgers 9–5 win over the Diamondbacks on September 12. Greinke only allowed three hits in eight scoreless innings as the Dodgers took the series finale, 4–3.

Back home, Kershaw followed with a seven inning three hitter while rookie Scott Schebler homered and the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 4–1. The Dodgers lost 5–4 the next day on a solo homer by Nolan Arenado in the 16th inning. The teams set new MLB records by using a combined 58 players in the game and a combined 24 pitchers. Wood allowed only one hit in eight innings and A.J. Ellis homered as the Dodgers won the last game of the series 2–0. Seager hit a two-run home run on September 18 in the Dodgers 6–2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was the 47th home run by a Dodgers rookie in 2015, setting a new franchise record. An RBI double by Aramis Ramírez in the 8th inning led the Pirates to a 3–2 win over the Dodgers the following night. Gerrit Cole struck out nine in seven innings as the Pirates won the next game, 4–3. Brett Anderson was chased early and the Dodgers were beaten by the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8–4, on September 21. Seager reached base safely for his sixteenth straight start to begin his career, setting a new L.A. Dodger record. The Dodgers lost their fourth straight when the Diamondbacks shut them out 8–0 the following day. The next night, the Dodgers snapped their losing streak, winning 4–1, with Carlos Frías starting in place of Greinke, who was scratched because of a sore calf. The bullpen would allow only one run while Utley and Seager drove in two runs each. Kershaw struck out nine in five innings and Chris Heisey hit a grand slam homer as the Dodgers finished the series with a 6–3 win, thus splitting the series.

The Dodgers began their final road trip of the regular season on September 25 at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies homered three times in the fourth inning off Mike Bolsinger and went on to win 7–4. The Dodgers lost again the next day, 8–6, on a walk-off two-run homer by Carlos González. A three-run homer by Nolan Arenado keyed the Rockies to a 12–5 win and a series sweep of the Dodgers for the first time since the 2007 season. The Dodgers next traveled to AT&T Park only to continue losing, this time 3–2 in 12 innings to the Giants. On September 29, Kershaw struck 13 batters (retiring the last 19 he faced) in a complete game shutout while Justin Ruggiano and A.J. Ellis hit back-to-back homers in the sixth inning off Giants ace Madison Bumgarner as they rolled to an 8–0 win. The Dodgers clinched their third straight National League West Division championship, the first time in franchise history the Dodgers made the playoffs three years in a row. The following day, Mike Leake pitched a two-hit complete game shutout as the Giants beat the Dodgers 5–0 to end the month of September. The Dodgers picked up a series split with a 3–2 win in the final road game of the regular season. Brett Anderson pitched 7  ²⁄₃ innings in the game to set a new career high of 180  ¹⁄₃ innings pitched in a season.

The Dodgers wrapped up the regular season with a three-game series at home against the Padres. Alex Wood allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings in the first game of the series as the Dodgers won 6–2. It was the 90th win of the season, the first time the Dodgers had won 90 or more games in three straight seasons since 1976–1978. Greinke picked up his 19th win of the season in the Dodgers 2–1 win the next day. He picked up his 200th strikeout of the season in the game and also won the National League E.R.A. title. The Dodgers also locked up home field advantage in the division series with the win. In the final game of the regular season, Clayton Kershaw struck out seven in 3  ²⁄₃ innings to pass 300 strikeouts on the season and Corey Seager had three hits in three at-bats, including a home run as the Dodgers won 6–3.

National League Division Series

The Dodgers took on the New York Mets in the Division Series. Clayton Kershaw struck out 11 batters in six innings while allowing only a solo homer by Daniel Murphy but he ran out of gas in the seventh, walking the bases loaded before Pedro Báez came into the game and allowed a couple of runs to score. Jacob deGrom struck out a Mets post-season record 13 batters (tying Tom Seaver in the 1973 National League Championship Series) and held the Dodgers scoreless in his seven innings of work as the Mets took game one 3–1. It was the first game in MLB playoff history where both starters struck out 11 or more batters and only the second ever with both having double digit strikeouts (along with game five of the 1944 World Series). A.J. Ellis singled in the game, extending his post-season hitting streak to 11 games, tying Carl Crawford for the franchise record.

In the second game, Zack Greinke allowed two solo homers in the second but went seven innings with only the two runs. The Dodgers came from behind with four runs in the seventh to win the game 5–2 and even the series up. Chase Utley was suspended for games three and four of the series as a result of a hard slide he performed in game two that led to a season-ending injury for Mets shortstop Rubén Tejada.

The series switched to Citi Field in New York for game three. A three-run single by Yasmani Grandal gave the Dodgers a quick 3–0 lead but Brett Anderson performed poorly allowing a bases clearing double by Curtis Granderson and a homer by Travis d'Arnaud. Alex Wood subsequently gave up a three-run homer to Yoenis Céspedes and the Dodgers were blown out 13–7.

In Game four, pitching on three days rest, Kershaw allowed only three hits over seven innings and Kenley Jansen picked up a four out save as the Dodgers evened up the series with a 3–1 win. The win snapped a seven-game road playoff losing streak for the Dodgers and was the first round elimination game they had won since the 1981 National League Championship Series. Ellis passed Crawford with his 12th consecutive playoff game with a hit, a new franchise record

In the decisive final game of the series, Daniel Murphy hit his third home run of the series, a solo shot in the sixth inning, to lead the Mets to a 3–2 victory and the series win.

Batting

List does not include pitchers. Stats in bold are the team leaders.

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts; SB = Stolen bases; Avg. = Batting average; OBP = On Base Percentage; SLG = Slugging; OPS = On Base + Slugging

Pitching

Stats in bold are the team leaders.

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

April

May

June

July

August

September / October

Notes

Major League Baseball Draft

The Dodgers selected 42 players in this draft. Of those, none of them have played Major League Baseball as of the 2015 season. They received a supplementary first round pick as a result of losing shortstop Hanley Ramírez to free agency and acquired a competitive balance pick from the Baltimore Orioles as part of the Ryan Webb trade.

The first round draft pick was right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler from Vanderbilt University and the supplementary pick was pitcher Kyle Funkhouser from Louisville University. Funkhouser chose to return to school and did not sign.