The 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 124th for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 56th season in Los Angeles. The Dodgers dealt with a series of injuries to key players during the first half of the season and on June 21 were 31–42, games back in last place in the National League West Division. Beginning with a 6–1 win over the San Diego Padres on June 22, the return of the injured players, and the emergence of rookie Yasiel Puig, they went 46–10 through August 23 as the rest of the division collapsed. On September 19, they clinched the National League West title. This was the earliest the Dodgers had ever clinched a title and the largest deficit they had ever overcome to win the division. They opened the playoffs by defeating the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS and advanced to the NLCS. In the NLCS, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in six games.
The season also marked the end of the Dodgers games on Fox Sports West 2/Prime Ticket, as they signed a lucrative contract with Spectrum to have an exclusive Dodgers-only channel called SportsNet LA.
Offseason
Coaching staff
The Dodgers fired hitting coach Dave Hansen after the 2012 season but retained the rest of their coaching staff for 2013. On November 7, the Dodgers hired Mark McGwire (pictured at right) to be the new hitting coach. On November 13, the Dodgers promoted bullpen coach Ken Howell to assistant pitching coach and named Chuck Crim as the new bullpen coach. They also named John Valentin as assistant hitting coach.
Departing players After the 2012 season several Dodgers players became free agents: pitchers Joe Blanton, Randy Choate, Brandon League and Jamey Wright, infielder Adam Kennedy and outfielders Shane Victorino and Bobby Abreu. The Dodgers also declined the 2013 contract options for pitcher Todd Coffey, backup catcher Matt Treanor and outfielder/first baseman Juan Rivera, making them free agents.
Player signings
The Dodgers began their offseason by re-signing closer Brandon League to a three-year, $22.5 million contract. On December 9, the Dodgers signed pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu to a six-year, $36 million contract after winning his rights from the Hanwha Eagles in the Korea Baseball Organization. The Dodgers, on December 10, signed the top free agent pitcher, Zack Greinke, to a six-year, $147 million contract, the largest ever awarded to a right-handed pitcher. They signed left-handed relief pitcher J. P. Howell to a one-year, $2.75 million contract on January 8.
Trades On December 12, the Dodgers acquired utility player Skip Schumaker from the St. Louis Cardinals for minor league shortstop Jake Lemmerman. On December 19, they traded RHP John Ely to the Houston Astros in exchange for minor league LHP Rob Rasmussen.
Spring training Spring training began for the Dodgers on February 12, when pitchers and catchers reported to the team's spring training facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The Dodgers went into spring training with the lineup fairly set but a few issues remained to be worked out. The Dodgers had eight pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Zack Greinke, Josh Beckett, Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang, Ted Lilly and Hyun-jin Ryu vying for five spots in the starting rotation.
Several Dodgers players participated in the 2013 World Baseball Classic held during spring training. Kenley Jansen played for the Netherlands, Ronald Belisario for Venezuela, Nick Punto for Italy, Luis Cruz and Adrián González for Mexico, and Hanley Ramírez for the Dominican Republic, as well as minor leaguers Andres Santiago and Mario Santiago for Puerto Rico and Felipe Burin for Brazil.
In the WBC Championship game, Ramírez injured his hand while diving for a ball. An MRI the next day revealed a torn thumb ligament that required surgery. The Dodgers announced that he would miss the first two months of the season while recovering.
One of the big stories of spring training was the play of Cuban defector Yasiel Puig. He hit .526 in Cactus League games and there was talk that he might be able to make the opening day roster, despite being a "very raw" talent who had only briefly played in Class-A the year before. However, the club sent him to AA Chattanooga to start the season.
Regular season
Season standings
National League West
National League Wild Card Wild Card Standings and Record vs. Opponents +Opening Day startersName PositionCarl CrawfordLeft fielderMark Ellis Second basemanMatt Kemp Center fielderAdrián González First basemanAndre Ethier Right fielderLuis CruzThird basemanA. J. EllisCatcherJustin Sellers ShortstopClayton Kershaw Starting pitcher
Major league debuts Hyun-jin Ryu (April 2, 2013) Matt Magill (April 27, 2013) Yasiel Puig (June 3, 2013) Chris Withrow (June 12, 2013) José Domínguez (June 30, 2013) Onelki García (September 11, 2013)
April
The Dodgers began the regular season at home on April 1 against the San Francisco Giants. Clayton Kershaw made the opening day start for the third straight season and pitched a complete-game shutout as the Dodgers won 4–0. Kershaw also hit his first career home run in the game, for the Dodgers' first run in the bottom of the 8th. Korean pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu made his Major League debut the following day, allowing three runs (one earned) on 10 hits in innings to pick up the 3–0 loss. The Dodgers went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position in the series finale, and Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence hit homers off Josh Beckett as the Giants won 5–3. Zack Greinke made his Dodgers debut on April 5, pitching a two-hitter for innings in the Dodgers' 3–0 win. Andre Ethier hit a solo homer in the game. In his second start of the season, Kershaw pitched seven shutout innings while striking out nine and only allowing two hits in the 1–0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodgers finished off their three-game sweep of the Pirates with a 6–2 win on April 7. Adrián González had four RBI and Ryu picked up his first Major League win in the game.
The Dodgers began their first road trip of the season on April 9 at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres. The bullpen allowed 5 runs to score in the bottom of the 8th and the team lost 9–3. In Game 2 of the Padres series, Chad Billingsley made his first start of the season and allowed only one run in six innings. Carl Crawford and A. J. Ellis both homered in the 4–3 win. The Dodgers won the third game of the series, 3–2, thanks to a go-ahead pinch hit home run by Juan Uribe. However, pitcher Zack Greinke injured his left collarbone when Carlos Quentin charged the mound and tackled him to the ground after he was hit by a pitch. Kershaw pitched well again in his next start, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but the offense failed to score and the team lost 3–0. Ryu struck out nine in six innings in his next start and also went 3 for 3 at the plate as the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks 7–5. Josh Beckett struck out nine in the next game and pitched a complete game, but the offense failed to score and he allowed the game-winning hit by Paul Goldschmidt in the bottom of the ninth of the 1–0 loss.
The Dodgers returned home on April 15 for a Jackie Robinson Day game against the Padres. Eric Stults hit a three-run homer off Chad Billingsley and the Dodgers again were unable to get key hits and lost 6–3. Chris Capuano made his first start of the season on April 16, replacing the injured Zack Greinke in the rotation. He struggled early, allowing four runs in the first inning and then left the game in the top of the third after suffering his own injury, a strained left calf. The Dodgers lost 9–2. Kershaw picked up his 1,000th career strikeout when he fanned Yonder Alonso of the Padres in the 2nd inning on April 17. He became the youngest Dodger pitcher to reach that mark since Fernando Valenzuela. However, he struggled after that and the offense again failed to do much as the team lost 7–2. The Dodgers were swept at home by the Padres for the first time since 2006.
The Dodgers were rained out on April 19 at Camden Yards and forced to play a doubleheader the following day against the Baltimore Orioles. Their losing streak extended to six games after they lost both games of the doubleheader. In the first game, Andre Ethier hit a three-run homer in the first to stake the Dodgers to a 4–0 lead but Ryu allowed two home runs and the bullpen again failed as the team lost 7–5. Manny Machado battered Beckett for a homer, double, single and 4 RBIs in the nightcap as the Orioles won 6–1. The Dodgers woes continued when Chad Billingsley was scratched from his scheduled April 20 start and placed on the disabled list due to pain in his elbow. Stephen Fife was recalled from AAA Albuquerque to make the start. The Dodgers did manage to end the six-game losing streak with a 7–4 victory in the series finale. Mark Ellis hit two home runs in the Dodgers 7–2 victory over the New York Mets at Citi Field on April 23. Ted Lilly made his first start of the season the following day and held the Mets to 1 run on 6 hits in 5 innings while striking out 7. Matt Kemp also hit his first home run of the season. However, the Mets tied the game in the bottom of the ninth and then won it with a walk-off grand slam by Jordany Valdespin off of Josh Wall in the bottom of the 10th. The Dodgers got a two-run rally in the top of the ninth on the 25th to pick up a 3–2 win over the Mets in the final game of the road trip.
The Dodgers returned home on April 26 to begin a three-game weekend series with the Milwaukee Brewers. Adrián González doubled twice and drove in 3 runs in the 7–5 victory. Mark Ellis left the game after five innings because of a strained right quad. Fife was placed on the disabled list the next day and Matt Magill was called up from the minors to make his Major League debut. Magill allowed only two runs in innings while striking out seven. However, Matt Guerrier allowed two home runs and they lost 6–4. Clayton Kershaw struck out 12 while pitching 8 shutout innings and Carl Crawford hit two homers as the Dodgers beat the Brewers 2–0 to win the series. Ted Lilly allowed five runs in the first three innings in his next start and Josh Wall allowed seven more in 2 innings of relief as the Dodgers were crushed by the Colorado Rockies 12–2. The Dodgers finished April with a 13–13 record after Ryu struck out 12 in 6 innings and Hanley Ramírez homered in his first start of the season after coming off the disabled list.
May Josh Beckett fell to 0–4 on the season as the Dodgers lost to the Rockies 7–3 to start the month of May.
The Dodgers injury epidemic continued as Hanley Ramírez, after playing in just four games, injured his hamstring in the May 3 game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Clayton Kershaw allowed only 3 hits and 1 run in 7 innings but the Giants won 2–1 on a walk-off home run by Buster Posey. The following day, Matt Magill got pounded in his second start, allowing 5 runs in only 1.1 innings. The Dodgers fell behind 6–1 but came back to tie the game, partially thanks to Dee Gordon who tripled, stole two bases and scored two runs. However, they wound up losing 10–9 on a walk-off home run by Guillermo Quiróz in the 10th inning. The Giants completed the sweep of the injury-riddled Dodgers the next day, 4–3.