Saturday night at Dodger Stadium will feature a pair of pitchers making debuts. Ted Lilly will be activated from the disabled list to make his 2012 debut, and Joe Wieland will make his major league debut for the Padres.
Wieland, 22, was half of the return from Texas for reliever Mike Adams in a deadline trade last season. Wieland was otherworldly in 2011, with an absurd 96 strikeouts and four walks in high Class A Myrtle Beach with a 2.10 ERA in 14 games, including 13 starts. He was them promoted to Double A, and all he did in 12 starts between Frisco and San Antonio was put up a 1.80 ERA with 54 walks and 17 strikeouts in 70 innings.
Lilly will make his first appearance against major league hitters since March 16. Lilly started on the minor league side on March 21 during spring training, then missed scheduled starts on March 27 and April 2 while battling stiffness and a pain in his neck. He began the season on the disabled list so he can build up his arm strength. He pitched a simulated game in Anaheim on April 2, then a rehab game on April 8 with Class A Rancho Cucamonga.
Lilly said on Friday that his neck feels good now. "[The rehab start] confirmed that I was healthy enough to pitch. I threw without any pain," he said.
Since joining the Dodgers in July 2010, Lilly has started eight games against the Padres and has given up more than two runs just once, when he allowed three. In 47 1/3 innings in those eight starts, Lilly has a 2.09 ERA with 13 walks and 44 strikeouts. The Dodgers have won six of those eight starts, with Lilly at 5-2.
Notes
- Padres center fielder Cameron Maybin left the game Friday night in the ninth inning after being hit by a pitch on his left elbow. Maybin was examined by the team's medical staff, and manager Bud Black said after the game that Maybin couldn't swing a bat, per Dan Hayes of the North County Times.
- Padres catcher Nick Hundley is 0-for-19 on the season, but does have five walks
Game Time: 6:10 p.m.
TV: Prime Ticket