Los Angeles @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 18, 2010 ) San Francisco 1, LA Dodgers 2
Enough with interleague play, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are ready to get back to their NL West rivalry.
The Giants are 4 1/2 games behind the division-leading San Diego Padres and the Dodgers are five games back.
The Dodgers visit AT&T Park for a three-game series starting Monday night. The Giants will begin an 11-game road trip after this homestand.
You can’t blame the clubs if they are glad interleague play is completed for 2010. They found out just how rough the AL East can be, losing series to the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
The Dodgers were just 4-11 against the American League and suffered perhaps their most heartbreaking interleague loss of the season on Sunday to AL East-leading New York.
Los Angeles blew a four-run lead in the ninth and Robinson Cano capped the comeback with a two-run homer in the 10th as the Yankees recorded an 8-6 triumph.
Rafael Furcal's RBI double in the eighth gave the Dodgers a 6-2 lead and closer Jonathan Broxton was two outs from closing out the game in the ninth. But the Yankees rallied, tying the score.
It was the first series that Dodgers manager Joe Torre faced his former club. Torre said he will decide by September if he will continue to manage. Games like Sunday could influence his decision.
San Francisco finished interleague play 7-8, and lost back-to-back games to Boston, including a 5-1 decision on Sunday. Ace Tim Lincecum lasted a season-low three innings in this one, throwing 79 pitches and allowing four earned runs.
Manager Bruce Bochy said Lincecum was not hurting and took him out because of a high pitch count.
The Dodgers are expected to activate right-hander Chad Billingsley (6-4, 4.34 ERA) from the disabled list on Monday after he suffered a strained right groin in his last start on June 11. Billingsley is 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA against the Giants at AT&T Park.
In a corresponding move, the Dodgers optioned right-hander Jon Link to Triple-A Albuquerque.
San Francisco counters with Barry Zito (7-4, 3.45). He pitched just four innings in his last outing, allowing five runs on seven hits. He received a no-decision against the Dodgers in April despite allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings. Zito has plenty of experience against the Dodgers, going 6-5 in 14 career starts.
Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp is batting just .196 in June and has one home run this month. He sat out Sunday against the Yankees, but don’t expect to see him on the bench tonight. Kemp is a lifetime .457 hitter (16-for-35) against Zito.