They were pitchers Yu Darvish, Brandon Morrow and Tony Watson, second baseman Chase Utley and outfielders Curtis Granderson and Franklin Gutiérrez.

[12] On December 16, the Dodgers traded first baseman Adrián González, utility player Charlie Culberson, pitchers Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy, and cash considerations to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for outfielder Matt Kemp.

[16] The primary competition going into camp was in left field where Enrique Hernández, Joc Pederson, Trayce Thompson, Andrew Toles, Alex Verdugo and Matt Kemp were all competing for playing time.

Clayton Kershaw, in his team record eighth consecutive Opening Day start, allowed one run (on a solo homer by Joe Panik) in six innings with seven strikeouts but the Dodgers failed to score and lost 1–0.

Joe Panik again hit a solo homer, this time off reliever Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning to give the Giants their second straight 1–0 victory.

[24] Kenta Maeda struck out 10 Giants in five innings his debut on March 31 and the Dodgers offense finally pushed across some runs as they picked up their first win of the season, 5–0.

[27] In the following game, Clayton Kershaw allowed two solo homers in his six innings while striking out six but the bullpen imploded, walking four batters in the seventh as the Diamondbacks went on to win 6–1.

[31] Ryu pitched six shutout innings with eight strikeouts on April 9 against the Oakland Athletics back in Los Angeles, while Matt Kemp, Corey Seager and Chris Taylor hit solo homers in a 4–0 win.

[49] Before beginning the next series, a four-game set against the division leading Diamondbacks in Arizona, the Dodgers learned that Corey Seager would require elbow reconstruction surgery and would be lost for the rest of the season.

[53] The Dodgers scored four runs in the eighth inning the next day, partially thanks to two wild pitches and a balk by Jorge de la Rosa, and won 5–2 to salvage a split of the series.

Walker Buehler struck out eight without giving up a hit in six scoreless innings and relievers Tony Cingrani, Yimi García and Adam Liberatore joined on a combined no-hitter, the 12th in major league history and the first by the Dodgers, who won 4–0.

[55] A two-run homer buy Raffy Lopez in the following game, allowed the Padres to take the lead in the sixth and they piled on against the Dodgers bullpen to even the series with a 7–4 win.

A home run by Kiké Hernández in the ninth tied the game and sent it into extra innings, where the Diamondbacks won in the 12th on a three-run homer by Daniel Descalso.

Nationals starter Max Scherzer allowed two runs in seven innings with 13 strikeouts, but the Dodgers rallied against the bullpen, pulling ahead with a two-run double by Matt Kemp in the ninth off closer Sean Doolittle to win 5–4.

[79] Kershaw returned from a stay on the disabled list to allow one run in five innings but the Dodgers lost, 2–1, when they couldn't get anything going offensively against Phillies ace, Aaron Nola.

[93] The Dodgers five-game winning streak came to an end the next day when Caleb Ferguson allowed two-run home runs to Nick Hundley and Brandon Belt and the Giants won 4–1.

[100] The Dodgers returned home to play the Cubs on June 25 and Kenta Maeda struck out nine while allowing only three hits and one walk in seven scoreless innings while solo homers by Hernández and Chris Taylor provided the offense in a 2–1 win.

[119] Clayton Kershaw struck out eight batters in 6+2⁄3 innings and the Dodgers hit two more home runs as they went into the all-star break with a 5–3 victory over the Angels and a record of 53–43, first place in the NL West.

[120] Matt Kemp was voted by fans to start the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and Ross Stripling and Kenley Jansen also made the team[121] with Max Muncy as a participant in the Home Run Derby.

[127] In the second game, Trevor Plouffe hit a three-run home run off Hernandez, who was making his first career pitching appearance, in the 16th inning to give the Phillies a 7–4 win.

[129] In the opener of their series against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park, Rich Hill struck out eight in seven scoreless innings while Manny Machado hit his first homer as a Dodger in the 8–2 win.

[132] In the last game of the roadtrip, the Dodgers were no hit by Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb for 8+2⁄3 innings before Chris Taylor singled with two out in the ninth.

A pinch-hit home run by Tyler O'Neill off Scott Alexander tied the game in the eighth and Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer off Jansen in the ninth to give the Cardinals a 3–1 win and a sweep of the series, their first in Los Angeles since 2006.

[156] Kershaw struck out nine in eight innings the following day and the Dodgers led going into the ninth (thanks to a three-run homer by Manny Machado) before Jansen blew another save by allowing a tying home run by Austin Hedges.

[162] The Dodgers moved into a tie for first place in the division when Matt Kemp hit a three-run home run off Archie Bradley in the eighth inning to give them another 3–2 comeback win.

[173] Manny Machado had three hits, including a home run, and three RBI in four at-bats as the Dodgers began a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium with a 9–7 win.

[183] With a narrow 1+1⁄2 game lead over the Rockies in the division race, the Dodgers began the final week of the season with a road trip to Chase Field to play the Diamondbacks.

[187] A tie-breaking RBI triple by Manny Machado helped the Dodgers to a 10–6 win over the Giants on September 29 as they clinched a spot in the postseason and moved into a tie for first place with the Rockies heading into the final game of the season.

The Dodgers got a couple of baserunners on in the ninth but Arodys Vizcaíno managed to close out the win for the Braves, 6–5, forcing the series to a fourth game.

The Brewers took a 3–0 lead after six but the Dodgers got two back in the seventh and then pulled ahead on a two-run homer by Justin Turner in the eighth to win 4–3 and even the series up after two games.