Blake Griffin of the Clippers will throw out a ceremonial first pitch tonight at Dodger Stadium, as he begins to build his Los Angeles legacy. The Clippers would be thrilled if he progressed as much as another former basketball player from Oklahoma, who now happens to roam centerfield for the Dodgers.
Matt Kemp is on a bit of a hot streak right now, as he has homered in five of the last six games, including four straight. The only Dodger ever to have a longer streak of games with a home run was Shawn Green, who turned the trick for five straight games in July 2001.
The last Dodger to homer in four straight games was Hee Seop Choi, who had a memorable seven home runs in an epic stretch in June 2005.
Born two days apart, Chad Billingsley (the younger one) will battle Max Scherzer in a battle of 25-year old pitchers who are struggling, at least on the surface. Scherzer in August went 2-2 in six starts with a 6.47 ERA, but his FIP was only 3.74, and he struck out 10.97 batters per nine innings. Billingsley's struggles are more injury related, but over his last 13 starts he is 3-5 with a 5.23 ERA and a 4.93 FIP. However, fighting leg injuries in August, Billingsley did put up a 3.21 ERA in five starts, with a 3.79 FIP, so he hasn't been that bad at all.
Jim Thome will be activated for tonight's game.
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Check out Xeifrank's simulation of today's game here.
Don't forget to RSVP for True Blue LA Day at Dodger Stadium, on the next-to-last day of the regular season, October 3 against the Rockies.
Get your guesses in for our today's "One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out," here.
Game Time: 7:10pm
TV: Prime Ticket, ESPN