San Diego @ Los Angeles preview
Dodger Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 2, 2010 ) San Diego 10, LA Dodgers 5
Ted Lilly makes his Los Angeles Dodgers’ debut on Tuesday night when he pitches against the NL West-leading San Diego Padres in the second of a four-game series.
The Dodgers acquired Lilly from the Chicago Cubs prior to Saturday’s trading deadline and Los Angeles hopes the veteran can stabilize the fifth spot in the rotation.
The quartet of Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and Vicente Padilla has been solid for the Dodgers, but finding a reliable fifth starter has been a season-long issue.
Hurlers such as John Ely and Carlos Monasterios have showed flashes of productivity, but ultimately were proven inconsistent.
Enter the 34-year-old Lilly, who is now pitching for his sixth team since breaking into the majors in 1999. The Dodgers are desperate to stay in the NL West race and can’t afford to have a weak starting pitching link to go with the team’s scoring woes.
Lilly has a career record of 106-92, but is just 3-8 in 2010 despite a respectable 3.69 ERA.
Inconsistency has plagued Lilly. He’s allowed one run or less in six of his last 10 starts, but also allowed 24 runs (20 earned) over three of the other outings.
Lilly is winless over his last five starts, with his last victory coming on June 29 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The left-hander is 5-2 lifetime against the Padres with a 3.18 ERA.
The Dodgers have lost six consecutive games after San Diego won Monday’s series opener, 10-5, behind the hitting of Chase Headley and Will Venable.
Headley went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs on Monday. For his part, Venable tied his career-high with four RBIs - three of which coming on his ninth homer of the season.
The Padres’ victory dropped the Dodgers nine games off the pace in the NL West. San Diego leads the division by two games over the San Francisco Giants.
San Diego sends ace Mat Latos to the mound on Tuesday night. Latos struck out seven Dodgers in five innings last Thursday, but wasn’t involved in the decision.
Latos has won six straight decisions since losing to the Philadelphia Phillies on June 4. Latos is 11-4 with a 2.45 ERA.
Interestingly, Latos is 7-2 away from pitcher-friendly Petco Park, a fact that displays just how dominating the 22-year-old has been in his first full major-league season.
Hitters are batting just .195 against Latos and he has struck out 113 in 117 2/3 innings.
Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp had a career-best five hits on Monday and hit his 18th homer of the season. Kemp’s 5-for-5 night ended a 2-for-19 slump that had seen his average drop to .259.
San Diego catcher Yorvit Torrealba went 3-for-5 on Monday to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Recent acquisition Ryan Ludwick made his first start as a Padre and went 2-for-5 while batting cleanup.
Padres outfielder Scott Hairston figures to be the lineup against Lilly. Hairston is hitting .353 (6-for-17) with two homers against Lilly.