# List of Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day starting pitchers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Los Angeles. They play in the National League West division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. The Dodgers have used 27 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 68 seasons in Los Angeles. The 27 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 30 wins, 27 losses and 10 no decisions.
The Dodgers started playing in Los Angeles in 1958, after moving from Brooklyn. The first Opening Day game for the Dodgers in Los Angeles was played in San Francisco against the San Francisco Giants on April 15, 1958. California native Don Drysdale was the Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitcher that day, in a game the Dodgers lost 8–0. Dodgers starting pitchers won both of their Opening Day starts in their first home ballpark in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Clayton Kershaw's nine Opening Day starts for the Dodgers from 2011 to 2018 and 2021 are the most ever by a Dodgers starter, two more than Don Drysdale and Don Sutton. Fernando Valenzuela, Ramón Martínez and Orel Hershiser have had at least four Opening Day starts, with six, five and four respectively. Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, who won three Cy Young Awards during the 1960s, only made one Opening Day start for the Dodgers, in 1964. Drysdale and Kershaw are also tied for the Los Angeles Dodgers record for most wins as an Opening Day starter, with five wins. They both also have two losses.
Koufax (1964), Chan Ho Park (2001), Brad Penny (2008), Hiroki Kuroda (2009), Julio Urías (2023) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2025) are the only Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day starting pitchers to have won all their Opening Day decisions, Martinez and Derek Lowe share the Los Angeles Dodgers record for most Opening Day losses, with three. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series championship in 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988 and 2020 and 2024 World Series. Drysdale (1959, 1963 and 1965), Fernando Valenzuela (1981 and 1988), Dustin May (2020) and Tyler Glasnow (2024) were the Dodgers' Opening Day starting pitchers those years. The 2024 Dodgers opened their season in Korea for the Seoul Series, and Glasnow was the starter for the Dodgers’ home opener in LA as well. The Dodgers' starting pitcher won the Opening Day game in 1963, 1965, 1981 and the home opener in 2024, but lost in 1959 and 1988. In 2020 and the 2024 season opener, the starter did not factor in the decision.

## Key

| Season | Each year is linked to an article about that particular Dodgers season. |
| Pitcher (#) | Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Dodgers |
| W | Win |
| L | Loss |
| ND (W) | No decision by starting pitcher; Dodgers won game |
| ND (L) | No decision by starting pitcher; Dodgers lost game |
| Final score | Game score with Dodgers runs listed first |
| Location | Stadium in italics for home game |
| * | Advanced to the post-season |
| ** | NL Champions |
| † | World Series Champions |

## Pitchers

| Season | Pitcher | Decision | Final score | Opponent | Location |
| 1958 | Don Drysdale | L | 0–8 | San Francisco Giants | Seals Stadium |
| 1959† | Don Drysdale (2) | L | 1–6 | Chicago Cubs | Wrigley Field |
| 1960 | Don Drysdale (3) | W | 3–2 | Chicago Cubs | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| 1961 | Don Drysdale (4) | W | 6–2 | Philadelphia Phillies | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| 1962 | Johnny Podres | L | 3–6 | Cincinnati Reds | Dodger Stadium |
| 1963† | Don Drysdale (5) | W | 5–1 | Chicago Cubs | Wrigley Field |
| 1964 | Sandy Koufax | W | 4–0 | St. Louis Cardinals | Dodger Stadium |
| 1965† | Don Drysdale (6) | W | 6–1 | New York Mets | Shea Stadium |
| 1966** | Claude Osteen | W | 3–2 | Houston Astros | Dodger Stadium |
| 1967 | Bob Miller | L | 1–6 | Cincinnati Reds | Crosley Field |
| 1968 | Claude Osteen (2) | L | 0–2 | Philadelphia Phillies | Dodger Stadium |
| 1969 | Don Drysdale (7) | W | 3–2 | Cincinnati Reds | Dodger Stadium |
| 1970 | Claude Osteen (3) | L | 0–4 | Cincinnati Reds | Dodger Stadium |
| 1971 | Bill Singer | L | 2–5 | Houston Astros | Astrodome |
| 1972 | Don Sutton | W | 3–1 | Cincinnati Reds | Riverfront Stadium |
| 1973 | Don Sutton (2) | L | 2–4 | San Diego Padres | San Diego Stadium |
| 1974** | Don Sutton (3) | W | 1–2 | San Diego Padres | Dodger Stadium |
| 1975 | Don Sutton (4) | ND (L) | 1–2 | Cincinnati Reds | Riverfront Stadium |
| 1976 | Don Sutton (5) | L | 2–4 | San Francisco Giants | Candlestick Park |
| 1977** | Don Sutton (6) | W | 5–1 | San Francisco Giants | Dodger Stadium |
| 1978** | Don Sutton (7) | W | 13–4 | Atlanta Braves | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium |
| 1979 | Burt Hooton | ND (L) | 3–4 | San Diego Padres | Dodger Stadium |
| 1980 | Burt Hooton (2) | L | 2–3 | Houston Astros | Astrodome |
| 1981† | Fernando Valenzuela | W | 2–0 | Houston Astros | Dodger Stadium |
| 1982 | Jerry Reuss | ND (W) | 4–3 | San Francisco Giants | Dodger Stadium |
| 1983* | Fernando Valenzuela (2) | ND (W) | 16–7 | Houston Astros | Astrodome |
| 1984 | Fernando Valenzuela (3) | L | 7–11 | St. Louis Cardinals | Dodger Stadium |
| 1985* | Fernando Valenzuela (4) | L | 1–2 | Houston Astros | Astrodome |
| 1986 | Fernando Valenzuela (5) | W | 2–1 | San Diego Padres | Dodger Stadium |
| 1987 | Orel Hershiser | L | 3–4 | Houston Astros | Astrodome |
| 1988† | Fernando Valenzuela (6) | L | 1–5 | San Francisco Giants | Dodger Stadium |
| 1989 | Tim Belcher | L | 4–6 | Cincinnati Reds | Riverfront Stadium |
| 1990 | Orel Hershiser (2) | ND (W) | 4–2 | San Diego Padres | Dodger Stadium |
| 1991 | Tim Belcher (2) | W | 6–4 | Atlanta Braves | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium |
| 1992 | Ramón Martínez | L | 1–8 | San Francisco Giants | Dodger Stadium |
| 1993 | Orel Hershiser (3) | L | 3–6 | Florida Marlins | Joe Robbie Stadium |
| 1994 | Orel Hershiser (4) | ND (W) | 4–3 | Florida Marlins | Dodger Stadium |
| 1995* | Ramón Martínez (2) | W | 8–7 | Florida Marlins | Joe Robbie Stadium |
| 1996* | Ramón Martínez (3) | W | 4–3 | Houston Astros | Astrodome |
| 1997 | Ramón Martínez (4) | L | 0–3 | Philadelphia Phillies | Dodger Stadium |
| 1998 | Ramón Martínez (5) | L | 0–6 | St. Louis Cardinals | Busch Memorial Stadium |
| 1999 | Kevin Brown | ND (W) | 8–6 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Dodger Stadium |
| 2000 | Kevin Brown (2) | W | 10–4 | Montreal Expos | Olympic Stadium |
| 2001 | Chan Ho Park | W | 1–0 | Milwaukee Brewers | Dodger Stadium |
| 2002 | Kevin Brown (3) | L | 2–9 | San Francisco Giants | Dodger Stadium |
| 2003 | Hideo Nomo | W | 8–0 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Bank One Ballpark |
| 2004* | Hideo Nomo (2) | L | 2–8 | San Diego Padres | Dodger Stadium |
| 2005 | Derek Lowe | L | 2–4 | San Francisco Giants | SBC Park |
| 2006* | Derek Lowe (2) | L | 10–11 | Atlanta Braves | Dodger Stadium |
| 2007 | Derek Lowe (3) | L | 1–7 | Milwaukee Brewers | Miller Park |
| 2008* | Brad Penny | W | 5–0 | San Francisco Giants | Dodger Stadium |
| 2009* | Hiroki Kuroda | W | 4–1 | San Diego Padres | Petco Park |
| 2010 | Vicente Padilla | L | 5–11 | Pittsburgh Pirates | PNC Park |
| 2011 | Clayton Kershaw | W | 2–1 | San Francisco Giants | Dodger Stadium |
| 2012 | Clayton Kershaw (2) | ND (W) | 5–3 | San Diego Padres | Petco Park |
| 2013* | Clayton Kershaw (3) | W | 4–0 | San Francisco Giants | Dodger Stadium |
| 2014* | Clayton Kershaw (4) | W | 3–1 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 2015* | Clayton Kershaw (5) | ND (W) | 6–3 | San Diego Padres | Dodger Stadium |
| 2016* | Clayton Kershaw (6) | W | 15–0 | San Diego Padres | Petco Park |
| 2017** | Clayton Kershaw (7) | W | 14–3 | San Diego Padres | Dodger Stadium |
| 2018** | Clayton Kershaw (8) | L | 0 –1 | San Francisco Giants | Dodger Stadium |
| 2019 * | Hyun-jin Ryu | W | 12 –5 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Dodger Stadium |
| 2020 † | Dustin May | ND (W) | 8 –1 | San Francisco Giants | Dodger Stadium |
| 2021 * | Clayton Kershaw (9) | L | 5 –8 | Colorado Rockies | Coors Field |
| 2022 * | Walker Buehler | W | 5 –3 | Colorado Rockies | Coors Field |
| 2023 * | Julio Urías | W | 8 –2 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Dodger Stadium |
| 2024 † | Tyler Glasnow | ND (W) | 5 –2 | San Diego Padres | Gocheok Sky Dome |
| 2025 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | W | 4 –1 | Chicago Cubs | Tokyo Dome |