Philadelphia @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 18, 2013 ) LA Dodgers 2, Philadelphia 3

The Los Angeles Dodgers managed only five hits in their series finale with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, but they made the most of their limited offense with a double, a triple and a home run en route to a 4-1 victory. The Dodgers begin a four-game set with the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Monday and face a tough pitcher who surprisingly has allowed a lot of hits this season. Cliff Lee of the Phillies will oppose Paul Maholm and both of whom are coming off strong outings.

Philadelphia opened its 10-game road trip by losing two of three in Colorado, although it salvaged Sunday's finale 10-9. Ryan Howard looks to ride the momentum from a stellar day in which he went 4-for-5 with a triple, a homer and three RBIs, and Jimmy Rollins is swinging a good bat with five hits over the last two days. Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers enters this series with a 15-game hitting streak while Hanley Ramirez is hoping to shake a 1-for-14 slump over his last four contests.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, SportsNet LA

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies LH Cliff Lee (2-2, 4.00 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Paul Maholm (0-1, 4.97)

Lee enters the week leading the majors in hits allowed (40) in 27 innings, including a complete game effort in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Atlanta. Lee struck out a season-high 13 in that contest after punching out a total of 15 hitters in his first three starts. The former Cy Young Award winner has a 2-2 lifetime record against the Dodgers, although he has a 1.70 ERA and a .181 opponents' average in seven career starts.

Maholm has made two starts and three relief appearances this season, and his second start was much better than his first. After allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings April 5 against San Francisco, Maholm held the Giants to one run over six innings last Wednesday. In 12 career starts against the Phillies, Maholm is 5-3 with a 4.63 ERA.

WALK-OFFS

1. Few hitters in baseball have better career numbers against Lee than Gonzalez (11-for-22), while Ramirez (8-for-16) also owns a .500 average versus Lee with three homers.

2. Chase Utley is a career .333 hitter in 27 at-bats against Maholm with six of his nine hits going for extra bases.

3. Ramirez has not homered in 11 games while Yasiel Puig's three-run blast on Sunday snapped a 10-game homerless drought for the second-year star.

PREDICTION: Phillies 4, Dodgers 3