A funny thing happened on the way to the division title. A series of hits, grounders, and sloppy defense thwarted the Dodgers in attempt number one at clinching the division on Sunday. Luckily for the Dodgers they have the luxury of a big lead and have many more opportunities to get the job done.
Starting this morning. It is getaway day in Pittsburgh, so the Dodgers and Pirates will start at 9:35am this morning. What a way to start the work week.
Hiroki Kuroda takes the mound today, looking for his ninth win, which would match his total from last season. Kuroda has won his last three starts, and since returning from getting hit in the head he is 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA and 3.10 FIP in four starts.
Zach Duke pitched very well at Dodger Stadium 13 days ago, allowing only two runs in 7.1 innings in a no-decision. However, since the beginning of August, Duke is 1-6 with a 6.28 ERA and 4.93 FIP over nine starts.
Over his last 17 road games, James Loney is hitting .362/.472/.672 with five home runs, 15 runs batted in, and 13 runs scored.
Rafael Furcal has an 11-game hitting streak, and a 20-game streak of reaching base via hit or walk.
Garrett Jones, who has hit 20 home runs for the Pirates since being called up on June 30, is hitting .333/.424/.556 in September. He will definitely get some votes for NL Rookie of the Year.
Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reported that Chad Billingsley will start Tuesday, followed by Jon Garland Wednesday in San Diego. Vicente Padilla will be available in the bullpen on either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on whether you choose to read Gurnick's interpretation or that of Dylan Hernandez in the LA Times.
Barry Bloom of MLB.com speculates that Ned Colletti will not return to the Dodgers in 2010 unless he receives a multi-year contract (thanks to BHSportsGuy for the link). Colletti currently has a mutual option for 2010. However, I really wanted to link to this blog post by Bloom for the Bob Dylan reference.
The Rockies are off today.
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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. There are three tickets left.
Get your guesses in for our today's "One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out," here.
Game Time: 9:35am
TV: Prime Ticket