Chad Billingsley Looks For Rebound

For the second game of their series against the Brewers in Milwaukee, the Dodgers will send Chad Billingsley to the mound Tuesday night. Billingsley has been scuffling of late. He has been accumulating strikeouts at an unsatisfactory rate, and not getting the results he was earlier in the season.

Billingsley is 0-for-15 at the plate in his last seven starts with eight strikeouts. His batting line has fallen from .308/.379/.538 to .195/.267/.341. By the way, all three current numbers (average, on-base, slugging) are still career highs for Billingsley.

More importantly, Billingsley has struggled on the mound recently, too. He has 10 walks and just six strikeouts in his last six starts, and in his last 10 outings he has had more strikeouts than walks just five times. We can split Billingsley's 24 starts this season into two groups:

Fewer strikeouts plus more fly balls have led to poorer and shorter outings by Billingsley since the beginning of June.

Speaking of reduced strikeouts, Yovani Gallardo starts for the Brewers tonight. After successive seasons reaching the 200-strikeout plateau and averaging more than a strikeout per inning, the right-hander has struck out 7.8 per nine innings this season. However, his walk rate (2.8 per nine) is a career low and his ERA (3.67), FIP (3.67), xFIP (3.52), tERA (3.68) and SIERA (3.52) are all right in line with his career numbers.

Gallardo has faced the Dodgers three times in his career, and has three losses and a nice shiny 10.80 ERA.

Lineups

Notes

• Since the All-Star break, Dioner Navarro has started 16 games at catcher, and Rod Barajas is making start number 13 tonight.
• Tonight is the seventh start for Juan Rivera at first base against a right-handed pitcher, in 19 such opportunities since Rivera joined the team.
  
• Gallardo has allowed exactly one run in seven innings in each of his last three home starts.
  

Game Time: 5:10 p.m.

TV: KCAL

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