Chad Billingsley vs. Joel Pinero
Both pitchers in tonight’s match up have been inconsistent during the course of the season. Pinero has been mediocre at best since his complete game shut out on May 16th. He will have to shake off his last appearance against the Dodgers, which did not end well. He lasted on 4 innings in an October 10th postseason contest, allowing four runs and seven hits while taking the loss.
Billingsley received a no-decision in his last appearance against the Angels of Anaheim. In two games against the Angels offense in 2009, Billingsley gave up nine runs in 12 innings.
John Ely vs. Scott Kazmir
Kazmir has been excellent over his past two starts, giving up only two runs combined. Ely experienced the shortest outing of his fledgling career in his last appearance, hanging on for five innings.
The Dodgers’ bats need to regain some consistency if they are going to take the Freeway Series. Outside of a 12 run surge against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boys in Blue have been relative quiet of late on the offensive side. If the Dodgers are going to close in on the Angels’ 38-30 all time lead in the Freeway Series, Manny and company will have to out hit their competitors.
Carlos Monasterios vs. Jered Weaver
Sunday’s contest will feature two young hurlers, one who has been considered a top prospect from the beginning, and another who was relatively unheard of before this season. Jeff Weaver’s little brother was pummeled in Oakland in his last start, but was on pace for the best season of his career before last Tuesday. It will be up to Monasterios and the Dodgers offense to make sure he does not regain his swagger.
Notes from the Dugout:
After posting a horrendous 10.59 ERA in ten games for Triple A Buffalo, Kiko Calero was cut by the Mets. The Dodgers swooped in to snag the veteran with the hopes of adding depth to the bullpen.
Garret Anderson will be facing the team he spent the majority of his career with for the first time since leaving after the 2008 season.
Questions or Comments? Contact Tyson Qualls at tysonqsports@gmail.com or on Twitter with @tysonqsports
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