Looking Ahead to April’s Schedule

Opening Day is just a mere two weeks and one day away! We’ve almost survived through the incessant boredom that is life without Dodger baseball. Come April 1st we will be united as we cheer on the Boys and Blue and together begin a new chapter of this Dodger memory book. While hope and positivity finally entrench the beautiful place we call home, Dodger Stadium, we must also realize that the journey will not be easy. Our enemies will be formidable. In order to earn the opportunity to play for the ultimate prize, we must first win the Western crown. April marks the beginning of this sacred quest.

The Dodgers may not be firing on all cylinders in April. We may not see Zack Greinke or Carl Crawford until later in the month. Matt Kemp is still working to come back from shoulder surgery, and Chad Billingsley‘s elbow will be a much talked about character for most of the early season. The Dodgers started out red hot last season, but can they come out of the gate swinging this year?

Let’s take a look at April’s schedule:

April 1-3 vs. San Francisco Giants

5-7 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

9-11 @ San Diego Padres

12-14 @ Arizona D-backs

15-17 vs. San Diego Padres

19-21 @ Baltimore Orioles

23-25 @ New York Mets

26-28 vs. Milwaukee Brewers

29- May 1 vs. Rockies

Of course the Opening Series versus the Giants will be heated, but the advantage goes to the Dodgers since they will be playing in front of a sold-out crowd at Dodger Stadium. Clayton Kershaw will be taking the mound (hopefully sans flu) on Opening Day, and he will start the season off on a winning note.

The Pirates comes into town next, and we will get to see old pal Russell Martin as a Buc. The Dodgers will need to win this homestand in order to begin the season with momentum.

The first road trip will take the Dodgers to San Diego and Arizona. I’ve been getting a feeling that Chase Headley and pals will not be rolling over easy this season. The Dodgers will need to at least play .500 on this road trip.

The Dodgers will come home for a quick three-game series with the Friars before they depart for an East Coast road trip. We will get to see the Dodgers play at Oriole Park at Camden Yards which should be a treat, and then they will play the Mets in New York for three games as well.

The final homestand of April will have the Dodgers hosting the Milwaukee Brewers and the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers will need to win more games at home this season than they did in 2012 in order to end up in the postseason. Last season they started off so well at home, but for some reason they struggled at home in the latter part of the season.

May’s schedule gets a lot tougher, so the Dodgers will have to have a winning April in order to stay on top in the West. The Dodgers will need to do improve on two things this season in order to overtake the Giants: win at home and win divisional games.

April at Dodger Stadium is a beautiful thing.