After finishing the 2011 season at 82-79 and 3rd place in the National League West, the Los Angeles Dodgers will begin the 2012 MLB schedule on the road against NL West rival San Diego Padres for a four-game series Thursday, April 5 to Sunday, April 8. The Dodgers will then have their first six home games of 2012, facing off with the Pittsburgh Pirates for three games April 10 to 12, then face off again with NL West rival San Diego Padres April 13-15. The Los Angeles Dodgers head back on the road to take on defending NL Central Champion Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park April 17 to 19, then head to Houston to take on the Astros in their final year as a National League ball club from April 20 to 22. The Dodgers then come home for six games against teams from the NL East, three with the Atlanta Braves, three with the Washington Nationals. The Dodgers will finish off the month of April on the road at Colorado to take on the division rival Rockies. All these games are expected to very close, so buy your Dodgers tickets now!
After finishing their series with archrival Colorado May 1 and 2, the Dodgers conclude a six-game road trip against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field from May 4 through 6. The Los Angeles Dodgers have an excellent opportunity to make some noise in the NL West in 2012 during the rest of May, as they have 18 of their next 23 games at home. With so many games at home, you can expect to find some cheap Dodger tickets on our website. This stretch leads off with eight games against division rivals, as the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies come into Dodger Stadium for three games each, followed by defending NL West Champion Arizona Diamondbacks for two games on May 14 and 15.
The Dodgers will have a short 2-game series in San Diego against the Padres, followed by a return trip home to take on the defending World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals for three games. Make sure to reserve your chance to see the Dodgers crush the defending champs by buying your Dodgers tickets now. The Dodgers finish their final three road games of May in Phoenix, taking on the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Los Angeles conclude the month of May playing three games at home against the Astros and four games against the Brewers.
The month of June may be tougher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, as they begin a 10-game road trip to Colorado to take on the Rockies, to Philadelphia for four games against the Phillies, and to Seattle to take on the Mariners to begin Interleague Play in 2012. The Los Angeles Dodgers will return home to take on intracity rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from the American League from June 11 to 13, followed by a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox, now managed by former All-Star 3B Robin Ventura.
The Dodgers will conclude 2012 Interleague Play with three games at the Oakland Athletics, followed by three more games at Anaheim to take on the Angels. With the Angels adding Albert Pujols to their roster, I am sure seeing this superstar will make for an exciting game. Take your time to search all the available inventory to make sure you buy the right Dodgers tickets. The Dodgers will conclude the road trip with three games against NL West rival San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. The Los Angeles Dodgers finish off the month of June with three games at home against the New York Mets.
The Dodgers begin the month of July with the final game of the four-game series against the Mets on Sunday, July 1, then host the Cincinnati Reds for three games from July 2 through July 4. The Dodgers then have would could be a critical four-game series with archrival Arizona in Phoenix from July 5 through 8. The Dodgers are then off from July 9 through 12 for the All-Star Break, with the 83rd annual All-Star game being played on Tuesday, July 10 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
When the Dodgers resume play on Friday, July 13, it will be at home against archrival San Diego for three games, followed by a three-game series at home against the Phillies. The Phillies have grown to be one of the tougher opponents for the Dodgers, buy your Dodger tickets now to support the team to victory. The Dodgers will then face another tough test, as they go on the road for a 10-game stretch between July 20 to July 29, with three games in New York, four games in St. Louis, and three games in San Francisco. The Los Angeles Dodgers finish up the month of July with games on July 30 and 31 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After the Dodgers finish up their three-game series against archrival Arizona on Wednesday, August 1, the Los Angeles Dodgers will play three games against the Cubs and three games against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium from August 3 through August 8. The Dodgers will then face their third road trip of at least ten games on the season, beginning with a three-game series against the newly-named Miami Marlins and new manager Ozzie Guillen August 10 through 12. The Dodgers will then have four games in Pittsburgh against the Pirates and three more against the Braves in Atlanta.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ schedule projects to be a bit easier to end August, as eight of their final eleven games are at home. The San Francisco Giants come to Dodger Stadium for three games between August 20 and 22, followed by the Miami Marlins paying a visit to Dodger Stadium from August 24 through 26. After a short three-game stint in Colorado taking on the NL West rival Rockies, the Dodgers host the Diamondbacks on August 30 and 31 to close out the month of August.
After playing two more games with the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 1 and 2, the Los Angeles Dodgers will play three more games with NL West rival San Diego Padres September 3 through 5. The Dodgers head back on the road to take on two more NL West rivals, the Giants for three games and the D-Backs for two games, between September 7 through 12.
The Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Cardinals for four games, then head out for the final nine road games of 2012, heading to Washington D.C. to take on the Nationals, to Cincinnati to take on the Reds, and to San Diego to take on the archrival Padres. The Dodgers finish up the 2012 schedule at home against the archrival Colorado Rockies from September 28 through September 30.
Looking at the Dodgers’ 2012 MLB schedule, the Dodgers have some extended periods where they are at home and other extended periods where they are on the road. One crucial home stretch that could really influence the Dodgers’ 2012 playoff chances include the 18 home games in May, including a stretch of 18 games out of 23 games at home. Be sure to buy your Dodgers tickets for these events to rally the Dodgers to victory. A crucial road stretch would likely be the nine-game stretch on the road in September, with six games against NL East teams (Washington and Atlanta) and three games against an NL West rival (San Diego).
While the Dodgers were 42-39 at home in 2011, they were also 40-40 on the road, so they played equally well both at home and on the road. To fare the best from the 2012 MLB schedule and contend for the 2012 postseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers would be best served by continuing to play well both at and away from home and try to improve upon those numbers so that they are significantly above .500 at home and be at or above .500 on the road.
Early indications seem to suggest that defending NL West Champion Arizona could be stronger than it was in 2011 when it won 94 games. The Giants, coming off a bit of a disappointing season after winning the World Series in 2010, are expected to have star catcher Buster Posey back after a gruesome collision in late May knocked him out for the rest of the 2011 season, which could help them return closer to their 2010 World Series form. The Padres and Rockies are both expected to not be strong contenders, as San Diego has lost some of their premium talent over the past few seasons (1B Adrian Gonzalez and RP Heath Bell), while the Rockies are signaling a period of rebuilding from within after trading ace RHP Ubaldo Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians in July 2011 for a package of four prospects, headlined by LHP Drew Pomeranz and RHP Alex White.
For the Los Angeles Dodgers to really contend in 2012, they must get off to a fast start during the first two months of their schedule, as they have many home games in April and May, but only nine home games in June, with six of those against AL teams (Angels and White Sox). They will need strong performances again from 2011 breakout performers OF Matt Kemp and LHP Clayton Kershaw to really make a push to dethrone Arizona and hold San Francisco at bay. If they can get off to a fast start in the early part of their schedule and continue the positive momentum they gained in the latter part of the 2011 schedule, the Los Angeles Dodgers could make a solid to strong run for the postseason in 2012.
