Los Angeles @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( May 6, 2010 ) Milwaukee 3, LA Dodgers 7
It’s never good when the best thing about your team with six weeks remaining is the return of the play-by-play voice for another season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers will be looking to celebrate something on the field on Tuesday when they open a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The most beloved voice in all of baseball and possibly all of sports, Vin Scully, announced on Sunday that he intends to return in 2011 for his 62nd season behind the microphone. Scully, 82, is the mark of class in an organization that has struggled to stay out of the tabloids all season from an ownership perspective and now finds itself having to overcome some embarrassment on the field.
Instead of challenging for the NL West title and another trip to the playoffs this season, Los Angeles has sunk into fourth place in the division and, at just one game above .500, are now just playing out the string.
The road has been particularly awful to the Dodgers, who have not won a series away from Chavez Ravine since before the All-Star break, dropping 14 of their last 17 road contests. They dropped two of three to the Cincinnati Reds at home over the weekend, including a 5-2 setback on Sunday that saw top hitter Andre Ethier go 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
The one good thing about the team lately has been the pitching of Ted Lilly, who was acquired at the trade deadline in a last-ditch effort to stay in contention. Lilly has certainly done his part, going 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a .129 batting average against in four starts since joing the team.
The veteran left-hander is coming off a two-hit performance against the Colorado Rockies last week in which he struck out 11 and walked two in a complete game.
He will get the start on Tuesday against a familiar opponent in the Brewers. Lilly has started twice at Miller Park already this season when he was with the Cubs, allowing a total of one run and seven hits while striking out 12 in 14 innings. He is 4-2 in 10 games - nine starts - against Milwaukee in his career with a 3.46 ERA.
The Brewers have been just as disappointing as the Dodgers this season, though without all the ugly headlines. At 59-65, Milwaukee has some work to do if it hopes to finish the season above .500 for the third time in the last four seasons.
Dave Bush will get the call for the Brewers on Tuesday. The veteran right-hander is coming off one of his better starts of the season last week when he earned a win at the St. Louis Cardinals, yielding one run on four hits in six innings.
Bush faced Los Angeles back on May 6, surrendering three runs - one earned - and four hits in five innings in a no decision. He owns a 1-1 record against the Dodgers in four career starts with a 3.55 ERA.