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The Dodgers are in rarefied air tonight, as they have a chance for their first series sweep of the season. In fact, it is only their second chance at a sweep this year. Back in April in San Diego, the Dodgers won the first two games against the Padres before falling in the series finale. Tonight, the Dodgers look to sweep away the Rockies in the final game of their homestand.
Jon Garland gets the call for the Dodgers in search of a win. One way he can do it is by pitching better, for one thing. While Garland had quality starts in four of his five May starts, he wasn't all that effective, with the same number of walks and strikeouts (16, in 28 innings) during the month. That's too high a walk rate (5.14) for a pitcher like Garland to succeed. However, in terms of being win starved, Garland's opponent is the one to look at.
At this point last season, Ubaldo Jimenez was 10-1 with an ERA of 0.78. He went into the All-Star break at 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA, a mortal lock to win 20 games. But that never happened. Ubaldo was 4-7 with a 3.80 ERA after the break, but if you look closer his two "halves" weren't terribly different:
| Ubaldo Jimenez 2010 Season | |||||||||
| Split | G | W-L | ERA | IP | HR/9 | BB/9 | K/9 | K/BB | FIP |
| 1st Half | 18 | 15-1 | 2.20 | 127.0 | 0.43 | 3.26 | 8.01 | 2.46 | 3.14 |
| 2nd Half | 15 | 4-7 | 3.80 | 94.2 | 0.38 | 4.37 | 9.60 | 2.20 | 3.04 |
However, this season has been a constant struggle for last year's NL All-Star starting pitcher. Through nine starts, Jimenez is winless, at 0-5 with a 5.86 ERA. Last year, for quite some time the Dodgers were the "and one" on Ubaldo's record. They hope to avoid the same "one" on the other side of the ledger tonight.
Lineups
| Rockies | Dodgers | |||
| RF | Smith | SS | Furcal | |
| 2B | Herrera |
3B | Blake |
|
| LF | Gonzalez | RF | Ethier | |
| SS | Tulowitzki | CF | Kemp | |
| 1B | Helton | LF | Gibbons | |
| 3B | Wigginton | 1B | Loney | |
| C | Morales |
C | Barajas | |
| CF | Fowler | 2B | Carroll | |
| P | Ubaldo | P | Garland | |
Notes
- Vicente Padilla will likely be activated before Friday's game in Cincinnati, per manager Don Mattingly
- Juan Uribe will begin a rehab assignment on Thursday with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and play two to three games. The first day he is eligible to return is Sunday
- Thanks to Silverwidow for this cringe-worthy stat of the night: Carlos Gonzalez is 11-for-18 off Garland in his career with seven doubles. Lest you think it is merely a Coors mirage, CarGo is 5-for-8 with three doubles off Garland in Colorado, and 6-for-10 with four doubles in more pitching-friendly environments (San Diego, Oakland, and Anaheim)
Game Time: 7:10 p.m.
TV: Prime Ticket