Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA – It’s not a surprise that as the reigning World Series Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers have already started a record-breaking year- and it’s only been a month since Opening Day.
Starting the season in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers have had a goal since winning the World Series: to run it back.
Thanks to a game-winning home run on April 2nd against the Atlanta Braves by Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers broke the record for the longest winning streak for a team following a World Series win. They’re currently at eight wins and hoping to extend that throughout the next week.
Concluding the first month of the MLB regular season, the Dodgers finished out April with a record of 21 wins and 10 losses. Despite the Dodgers’ slight slump against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals, the Los Angeles team is leading the National League West (NLW) in wins. The club is also tied with East Coast rivals the New York Mets for total wins overall in the MLB.
Following their split series against the Texas Rangers and a losing rematch with the Chicago Cubs, LA’s boys of summer have already experienced severe ups and downs. The Dodgers returned home to face the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Miami Marlins, which contained their home-stand ups and downs.
Against Pittsburgh, the Dodgers struggled against Pirate ace Paul Skenes, yet still managed to win the series against the Pirates, taking two wins to the Pirates’ one at home in LA. Despite facing a slow start, the Dodgers went on to sweep the Marlins in an electric three-game series, testing the team’s mettle and reigniting the offensive capabilities of the boys of summer.
2025 Dodgers compared to 2024
The Dodgers experienced very similar standings in April last season during their 2024 championship run. By the end of April, the Dodgers had faced NLW divisional rivals: the San Francisco Giants, the San Diego Padres, and the Arizona Diamondbacks, as well as six outside division teams.
Last season’s first month record was 19 wins and 12 losses, an eerily similar record to the one they’ve achieved this year. A well-known tidbit is that baseball, like a great deal of things, is slow to start, especially for baseball’s juggernauts like the Dodgers or the Yankees.
It shouldn’t and doesn’t come as much of a surprise that the Dodgers’ record reflects that of last year. The club will likely continue to perform well and build on this momentum from here onwards.
Although they had a slow start, against some notable and some not-so-notable teams, the Dodgers have emerged from April in the winning column and appear to be carrying good momentum into May. They’ll start off the month on the road with an upcoming series against the Atlanta Braves and a rematch in Miami against the Marlins.
Injuries and Inconsistency
However, this rising momentum comes with concerns, especially regarding consistency. If there’s anything that continues to prove to be inevitable with the Dodgers, it’s Shohei Ohtani and injuries.
Injuries are beginning to plague the pitching staff, with starters Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, as well as bullpen ace Blake Treinen, dealing with significant injuries that have taken them out of the rotation and forced manager Dave Roberts to make tough decisions about trusting the Dodger bullpen to start games.
But, that bullpen has also had its own selection of issues. A glaring issue appears to be in the pitching department, especially so now that the offense is getting its start.
These issues appear to be location and power delivery. Pitchers like Anthony Banda, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, and Ben Casparius have become slightly notorious for either nearly or outright giving up games where the Dodgers could have secured a win.
The most recent of which has been Anthony Banda, who gave up a game-tying grand slam to Miami Marlins outfielder Dane Myers and nearly cost the Dodgers a win on April 28. Other instances have involved Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates giving up home runs, which eventually led to victories for Dodger opponents, including the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers.
A goal for the Dodgers, as glaringly obvious as it is for both fans and their front office, is just to stay healthy. However, staying healthy may also require a reevaluation of how the pitching staff and coaching are conducted, something President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman promised to investigate, but no action has been taken yet.
One of the most headline-heavy health issues centered around superstar Mookie Betts, who has also experienced slow starts in April. Betts was struck with a stomach bug that prevented him from starting the season in Japan, resulting in a 20-pound weight loss. As he continues to regain his strength, Dodger fans are left with only their patience, which is being put to the test in this early part of the season.
Although staying healthy should be the primary focus for most players, another priority will remain on the radar: maintaining offensive consistency.
New Additions
Though with all that being said, Los Angeles’s champs aren’t down for the count, and no panic buttons should be pressed in fear.
Despite coming injuries and the inevitable ups and downs in a baseball season, this team has far too much depth to be challenged by anything in the early season. As evidenced by the final game of the homestead against Miami on April 30th, the Dodgers are simply loaded.
When one of theirs goes down, another can just as easily come and perform at his best, like Tony Gonsolin. The pitcher was reactivated with the squad on April 30 and made his first start since 2023 after sitting out the 2024 season with injury. Gonsolin closed his energy-fueled return with nine strikeouts, securing the win for Los Angeles.
“It feels good to be back on the mound for sure,” Gonsolin said during the post-match press conference. “Just go out there and do my job and have fun. I thought I had a lot of fun today. I think that was the ultimate goal.”
His performance comes at the perfect time, alleviating some of the previously mentioned issues affecting the team.
“I’m confident in his preparation, his experience, his heartbeat and his ability to execute many pitches,” Roberts said after the game. “That’s exactly what he did today. It’s a team that swings the bats aggressively, and I just felt that with his mix, he should be able to get some strikeouts and some quick outs. That’s what we’ve been looking for, the consistency in a starter.”
The Dodgers are no strangers to early-season pickups. With more information coming in regarding some of their high-leverage arms, the Dodgers have already had their eyes on talent to keep their minor league team, the Oklahoma City Comets, well-stocked and ready to go.
Two recent pick-ups for the Comets are J.P. Feyereisen from the Arizona Diamondbacks and Ryan Loutos from the St. Louis Cardinals, both for cash considerations. Feyereisen isn’t a stranger to the Comets, having previous stints with them and the Dodgers dating back to 2022.
Loutos, however, is a brand new addition to the franchises. With both coming from relatively average performances, there’s still room to see if these additions have what it takes to stick with LA’s boys of summer.
Now, the Dodgers head into May against the Atlanta Braves once again. Los Angeles will watch and await the coming snowball effect of the baseball juggernaut.