The Los Angeles Dodgers aim for a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres when the two NL West rivals close out their set this afternoon from Chavez Ravine.
The Dodgers have won seven of their last eight games and recorded an 8-5 victory last night behind Andre Ethier's grand slam during an eight-run second inning. Ethier finished with three hits and two runs scored for Los Angeles, which is 4-1 on a six-game homestand.
LA starter Hiroki Kuroda was the beneficiary of the big second inning, as he allowed seven hits and four runs to win his fourth straight start, a career- high winning streak. His 11 wins tie a career-best, set last season.
"It was a walk in the park early, but it didn't feel like that at the end," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "We swung the bats well. Hiroki was good, but had a little struggle with his slider."
Mattingly will give the ball to Ted Lilly Wednesday and he's 8-13 with a 4.43 earned run average in 27 starts this season. Lilly was 0-3 in four starts until beating Colorado in a 6-1 decision on Friday, as he fired seven innings of one-run ball and struck out five batters.
Lilly lost to San Diego on Aug. 3 at Petco Park, but is 8-4 with a 2.84 ERA in 15 career games (14 starts) in this series.
The Padres have lost six in a row since winning five straight and received a poor outing from Tim Stauffer on Wednesday. Stauffer lost control on the mound and walked a team-record six batters in the second inning. He walked three batters with the bases loaded and threw just 25 of his 61 pitches for strikes before departing with two outs in the lopsided inning. He was officially charged with seven runs.
"From my vantage point, there were a lot of good pitches thrown," Padres manager Bud Black said. "He was trying to throw strikes, but he didn't do it. He's got good stuff. He had a rough game. He's one of the best pitchers in the National League. Tonight was extremely uncharacteristic."
Kyle Blanks and Orlando Hudson clubbed back-to-back homers in the sixth inning for San Diego, which is 1-6 on an eight-game road trip and got three RBI from Blanks. Hudson and Jesus Guzman both had two hits and Jason Bartlett scored twice in a losing cause. Outfielder Cameron Maybin is still nursing a sore wrist and an MRI scan revealed no structural damage. He could return this weekend.
Wade LeBlanc gets the nod for the Padres today and he's 2-3 with a 5.02 earned run average in eight starts this season. He had won consecutive starts before losing at Arizona in Friday's 5-0 verdict in which he yielded five runs -- four earned -- and seven hits in four innings. The lefty has made six career starts against the Dodgers, going just 1-4 with a 5.06 ERA.
Los Angeles has won 10 of 14 meetings with San Diego this season, including six wins in eight tries at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers swept the Padres in a three-game series in Hollywood from July 8-10.
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