Los Angeles @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 15, 2010 ) LA Dodgers 12, Cincinnati 0
Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds are relying on some young arms in their race to the playoffs this season. Whether those arms can hold their form deep into the season will likely determine if the clubs are still playing in October.
Young aces Clayton Kershaw and Mike Leake will square off when the Dodgers and Reds face off on Wednesday.
Kershaw is no stranger to pennant races, having helped lead Los Angeles to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. But the left-hander, just 21 last season, was clearly laboring under the weight of a career-high 171 innings in the regular season and was pounded for seven runs in 6 2/3 innings by the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series.
Conventional wisdom is that pitchers under 25 should have their innings increased by around 30 each season, meaning Kershaw should be able to make it to October if manager Joe Torre keeps an eye on his innings.
When Kershaw (6-3) is on, he is almost unhittable, allowing opponents just a .202 batting average this season. The lone problem with the former first-round pick’s game is his control. Kershaw is averaging 5.1 walks per nine innings this season after yielding 4.8 per nine last season.
He is coming off a strong outing against the St. Louis Cardinals last week in which he surrendered just two walks while striking out 10 and allowing three runs in seven innings to earn the win. Kershaw has faced – and beaten - Cincinnati just once in his career, allowing two runs and walking two while striking out 11.
Leake is even fresher when it comes to innings pitched, having thrown 142 for Arizona State last year en route to being a first-round draft pick by the Reds last June. With no minor league innings under his belt at all, Leake will have to be closely monitored by the Cincinnati staff, something manager Dusty Baker has had problems with in the past.
But Leake (5-0) is looking great so far, having yet to suffer a loss in the major leagues while leading the Reds with a 2.68 ERA. The right-hander has allowed one earned run or less in six of his last nine outings.
The 22-year-old Leake is coming off his shortest outing of the season, however, when he lasted just 4 1/3 innings against the San Francisco Giants last week while allowing five runs on 11 hits and four walks. He managed to avoid his first loss when the offense bailed him out in a 7-6 Cincinnati victory.
Leake earned his first major league win against Los Angeles back on April 21 despite allowing five runs in seven innings. That outing and his last outing are the only two times this season that he has allowed more than three runs.
The Dodgers took the first game of the series with a 12-0 pasting on Tuesday. Manny Ramirez homered and drove in four and Rafael Furcal had five hits among the 19 for Los Angeles.