Even though the Dodgers have beaten Dan Haren the last three times they have faced him, tonight still poses a tough task for the offense. Haren, 4-4 despite a 2.54 ERA this season, has pitched at least six innings in all ten starts, and has averaged over seven innings per outing.
Current Series
Diamondbacks lead the series 1-0
| Mon 06/01 | WP: Billy Buckner ( - ) SV: Tony Pena LP: Hiroki Kuroda ( - ) | 2 - 3 loss |
Arizona Diamondbacks Tuesday, Jun 2, 2009, 7:10 PM PDT Dan Haren vs Randy Wolf Mostly cloudy. Game time temperature around 65. Complete Coverage > | ||
| Wed 06/03 | 7:10 PM PDT | |
The Dodgers have seen a ton of pitches this season, and are sixth in the major leagues in seeing 3.93 pitchers per plate appearance. The major league average is 3.83 pitches/PA. Here are the Dodger regulars who are above average:
| Rank | Player | Pitches | PA | Pit/PA |
| 5) | Andre Ethier | 945 | 219 | 4.32 |
| 22) | Casey Blake | 779 | 186 | 4.19 |
| 30) | Russell Martin | 804 | 204 | 4.12 |
| 65) | Matt Kemp | 875 | 220 | 3.98 |
| 66) | Rafael Furcal | 807 | 203 | 3.98 |
| 79) | Orlando Hudson | 976 | 248 | 3.94 |
| 103) | James Loney | 885 | 229 | 3.86 |
Juan Pierre is the only regular below average in this category, at 3.47 pitches per PA. Manny Ramirez, before his suspension, averaged 4.03 pitches per PA.
Orlando Hudson, who has started every game this season and leads the National League with 248 plate appearances, will earn an additional $200,000 with his second plate appearance tonight. Hudson's contract calls for a base salary of $3.38 million plus $4.62 million in incentives, and he has incentives that kick in every 25 plate appearances through 575.
Brad Ausmus will start tonight at catcher, giving Russell Martin a night of rest, says Ken Gurnick.
Four Dodgers made Dave Cameron's NL All-Star ballot over on Fangraphs: Orlando Hudson, Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, and Jonathan Broxton
Tonight's lineup:
Pierre LF
Furcal SS
Hudson 2B
Loney 1B
Blake 3B
Ethier RF
Kemp CF
Ausmus C
Wolf P
Nobody guessed June 2 in the Russell Martin HR contest, so if he happens to hit one out tonight, the win will be determined by when he hits it. The two closest guessers to tonight are YRLBruin (Monday, 7th inning) and Ken Noe (Wednesday, 2nd inning). YRLBruin should root for a Martin homer by the fourth inning, while Ken Noe needs a homer in the fifth inning or later.
Get your guesses in for "She Is Gone" here.