Last night was the first game in Arizona of James Loney's career in which he did not get a hit, breaking a streak of 19 games. In 20 career games at Chase Field, Loney is hitting .420/.453/.630.
Matt Kemp, who homered last night, has now hit in 15 straight games in Arizona, not bad considering Kemp didn't start in two of those games. In 19 career games at Chase Field, Kemp is hitting .348/.357/.576.
However, none of that compares to the damage done in the desert by Manny Ramirez. In nine career games at Chase Field, Manny has 16 hits in 25 at-bats, hitting a ridiculous .640/.763/1.040 with six extra-base hits and 12 runs scored. Two of those games were with Boston, and as a Dodger he has been even better, hitting .667/.719/1.143. Manny has been on base at least three times in six of the seven games, and in the other game he was "only" on base twice.
These hitters will face Doug Davis, who remained with Arizona after being claimed on waivers by the Brewers. Through his first four career starts against the Dodgers, Davis gained the reputation of being a Dodger killer, as he only allowed a single unearned run in 30 innings. However, Davis has simply been hammered by the Dodgers in six starts since. He has averaged barely over four innings per start, and in his 24.2 innings has a 7.66 ERA and a 2.27 WHIP against Los Angeles. Opposing Dodgers have hit .375/.455/.587 off Davis during those six starts. Davis has been pretty good of late, though, with a 3-0 record and a 2.08 ERA over his last four starts, all against the Pirates and Mets.
Since the All-Star break, tonight's starter Hiroki Kuroda is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA. Kuroda has issued zero or one walk in eight of his last 11 starts. Tonight is Kuroda's 46th start with the Dodgers, and nobody has been more stingy at issuing walks over the start of his LA Dodger career:
| First 50 Games as LA Dodger Most Starts With < 2 Walks |
|
| Pitcher | 0-1 BB Gms |
| Hiroki Kuroda | 27 |
| Don Sutton | 27 |
| Tim Belcher | 21 |
| Pedro Astacio | 19 |
| Alan Foster | 18 |
Jinx alert: The Dodgers have gone a season high six games and 59.1 innings without an error.
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KABC's Dodger Talk, with Ken Levine and Josh Suchon, now has their archives available online. If you want a nice laugh, be sure to listen to the angry version of Levine here.
Get your guesses in for "Just A Bit Outside" here.
Game Time: 5:10pm
TV: KCAL