This is the 17th interleague road series the Dodgers have played since 2005, and the Dodgers have a chance to get a fourth series win. The Dodgers are 3-13 in series on the road in AL parks, winning in Toronto in 2007, and in Texas and Anaheim in 2009. This is only the eighth time in those 17 series that the Dodgers have had a chance to win the series. To beat the White Sox and win that fourth series, the Dodgers are sending to the mound Hiroki Kuroda, who hasn't allowed a run in each of his last two starts.
Kuroda has faced the White Sox just once in his career, coming within one out of a complete game two days before Michael Jackson died in 2009. Only two current White Sox have more than four plate appearances against Kuroda: Adam Dunn is 3-for-7 with two doubles, a home run, and four walks, and Omar Vizquel is 5-for-11 with a double.
Kuroda threw seven scoreless innings against the Pirates on May 11, then 7 2/3 scoreless innings against the Brewers on Tuesday. The last Dodger starter to pitch three straight games with seven or more scoreless innings was Chan Ho Park in 2000-2001.
Jackson has been up and down this season, at 3-5 with a 4.53 ERA, though in four home starts he has a 3.12 ERA with seven walks and 25 strikeouts in 26 innings. Jackson is 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA against the Dodgers in his career. Three of those starts came last year when he was with Arizona. Rod Barajas (3-for-10 with a home run), James Loney (5-for-12 with a double), and Andre Ethier (3-for-10 with a home run) have had success against Jackson, while Matt Kemp is 3-for-11 (.657 OPS) against the former Dodger.
Lineups
Rafael Furcal leads off for the first time since April 11.
Dodgers | White Sox | |||
SS | Furcal |
LF | Pierre | |
2B | Carroll | SS | Ramirez | |
RF | Ethier | 1B | Dunn | |
CF | Kemp | DH | Konerko | |
1B | Loney | C | Pierzynski | |
C | Barajas |
CF | Rios | |
DH | Gibbons | 3B | Vizquel | |
LF | Sands | RF | Lillibridge |
|
3B | Mitchell | 2B | Beckham | |
|
||||
P | Kuroda | P | Jackson |
Game Time: 11:10 a.m.
TV: Prime Ticket, WGN