Florida @ Los Angeles preview
Dodger Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 5, 2010 ) Florida 6, LA Dodgers 5
It’s safe now to say the slump of Florida Marlins closer Leo Nunez was short-lived.
After blowing back-to-back save opportunities, Nunez has finished off games in dominating fashion on consecutive days to officially show he wasn’t about to go in a deep funk.
The second straight save ended Monday’s victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a three-series. The two teams meet again on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Nunez struck out two of three batters in the ninth on Monday, including blowing away red-hot Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal to end the contest. Nunez also struck out two in the ninth in a save against the Atlanta Braves on July 4.
The Florida closer has 18 saves in 23 chances. His ERA is at 3.12, nearly a full run higher than what it was before the recent rough stretch.
Nunez blew a two-run lead against the New York Mets on June 29 but ended up getting the victory when Florida pushed across a run in the bottom of the ninth.
On July 2, Nunez didn’t retire a single hitter as Atlanta scored twice in the bottom of the 11th to defeat the Marlins.
Nunez didn’t give up his first run of the season until May 4, when he blew a save against the San Francisco Giants. He then converted nine straight opportunities before blowing a save against the Texas Rangers on June 15.
Nunez was 26-for-33 in save opportunities last season in his first year as Marlins closer.
Getting Furcal out has been a tough task for any pitcher of late. Furcal extended his hitting streak to nine games on Monday with a two-run homer.
Furcal went 1-for-5 and is hitting .526 (20-for-38) during the hot streak. He has scored a run in 11 consecutive games, the longest stretch by a Los Angeles player since Shawn Green in 2002.
Furcal is hitting .335 on the campaign.
Vicente Padilla starts for the Dodgers on Tuesday and he was roughed up by the Marlins in early April. Padilla lasted just 4 1/3 innings and gave up four runs and eight hits.
Padilla is coming off his best outing of the season – holding San Francisco to one run and three hits over seven innings.
Padilla is making his eighth start of the season and has a 2-2 record and 5.05 ERA. He has a 4-5 lifetime record against Florida and a 3.22 ERA.
Chris Volstad will start for Florida. Volstad is just 1-5 over his last 10 starts.
Overall, Volstad is 4-7 with a 4.45 ERA. His last victory was June 13 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Volstad lost to the Dodgers in April when he gave up three runs – two earned – and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. He’s 2-2 with a 3.76 ERA in four career starts against Los Angeles.
Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier went 2-for-3 in the Dodgers’ 6-5 loss on Monday to raise his career average against Florida to .374 (34-of-91).