Pittsburgh @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 16, 2012 ) LA Dodgers 6, Pittsburgh 10

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers will try to get their offenses untracked when they meet Friday in the opener of a three-game series in Los Angeles. The Pirates combined for six runs while losing two of three to the visiting Cubs in their season-opening series. The plane ride to Los Angeles was surely a long one as Pittsburgh had the tying run on third with nobody out in the ninth Thursday, but No. 5 hitter Pedro Alvarez struck out and Neil Walker grounded into a game-ending double play. Alvarez and Walker are a combined 4-for-22 with no extra-base hits to start the season.

The Dodgers couldn’t take advantage of seven walks in five innings by Giants starter Tim Lincecum on Wednesday, went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 in the 5-3 loss. It was their second straight defeat after Monday's season-opening win. Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp is 0-for-10 on the season and has gone a career-long six games without a generating a base hit. The opposite can be said of left fielder Carl Crawford, who is 5-for-9 in his first three games with a walk and two runs scored.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), ROOT Sports (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers RH Zack Greinke (2012: 15-5, 3.48) vs. Pirates LH Jonathan Sanchez (1-9, 8.07 ERA)

Greinke joins his fourth team in the last four seasons and this time he’s expected to stick around for a while after signing a six-year, $147-million deal in the offseason. He experienced inflammation in his pitching elbow last month but was deemed fit after throwing 81 pitches in his final preseason tune up Saturday against the Angels. He finished with a 5.53 ERA during the spring. Greinke was roughed up by the Pirates as a member of the Brewers last July, allowing five earned runs in five innings, including home runs to Walker and Andrew McCutcheon.

Sanchez was also dealt in the middle of last season and will begin his third straight season in a different uniform. His 2010 campaign, in which he went 13-9 with a 3.07 ERA for the World Series Champion Giants, continues to appear more like an aberration, as he’s 26-46 in the other years with 4.58 career ERA. Sanchez spent his first six seasons in San Francisco, so he’s familiar with the Dodger Stadium environment, though that hasn’t translated into success. He’s 1-3 in five career starts at Chavez Ravine with a 5.20 ERA. Control issues have always been the Achilles' heel for Sanchez, as he averages one walk every 1.8 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Despite posting a 0.82 ERA during the preseason, the Dodgers released RP Kevin Gregg on Wednesday. The Dodgers are overloaded with starters and were forced to stash a few in the bullpen, leaving Gregg without a roster spot.

2. Dodgers RF Andre Ethier is hitless in his last 10 at-bats against Sanchez and 4-for-30 overall with 11 strikeouts.

3. Pirates C Russell Martin, who played his first five seasons with the Dodgers and the last two with the Yankees, is hitless in his last 20 at-bats dating to last season’s American League Championship Series against the Tigers.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 4, Pirates 1