Los Angeles @ San Diego preview
Petco Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 7, 2010 ) LA Dodgers 1, San Diego 2
The San Diego Padres entered their series with the Los Angeles Dodgers wondering when they would next win a game. They conclude it Wednesday night with a chance at a sweep.
The Padres have followed a 10-game losing skid with back-to-back victories over the Dodgers and will try to solve Chad Billingsley in the finale of the three-game series at Petco Park.
The two wins have allowed San Diego to stay in first place in the National League West, one game ahead of the San Francisco Giants. The Colorado Rockies are lurking at 4 ½ games out.
The Giants will begin a four-game series in San Diego on Thursday, and the Padres would like to enter the pivotal series on a high note.
That could be a tough task against Billingsley, who has a 1.40 earned-run average in three starts against the Padres this season and owns a 10-5 career mark against San Diego.
Billingsley is 2-1 against the Padres this season, allowing zero runs in both his victories and three runs in the loss.
Billingsley (11-8, 3.54 ERA) is coming off an outing where he held San Francisco to two unearned runs and two hits over eight innings.
San Diego counters with rookie Cory Luebke. The left-hander is making his second career start.
Luebke lost to the Colorado Rockies in his debut on Sept. 3, giving up four runs and five runs in five innings. He was touched up for two homers.
Luebke is getting the start ahead of struggling Kevin Correia (10-10, 5.52 ERA). Correia allowed 20 earned runs in 12 innings over his last three starts.
Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez went 2-for-3 on Tuesday to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Gonzalez is batting .457 (16-for-35) during the streak.
Gonzalez is just a .233 career hitter in 43 at-bats against Billingsley. The slugger has never homered off the Dodgers right-hander.
San Diego closer Heath Bell has saves in each of the first two games of the series after pitching just once in a 17-day span.
Bell (1.70 ERA) has struck out six of the eight batters he has retired in the series without allowing a hit. He has 39 saves and has converted 26 straight opportunities dating to late May.
Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier went 0-for-4 on Tuesday and hasn’t homered since Aug. 25. Ethier is just 3-for-27 (.111) over his last seven games.