The Dodgers move on to Atlanta, looking for their 10th win in their last 11 games, opening a three-game weekend series with the Braves. Chad Billingsley has made three career starts in Atlanta, one in each of the last three seasons. He has struck out at least eight Braves each time:
August 16, 2010: Billingsley allowed one run on five hits in seven innings, with one walk and eight strikeouts. However, the Dodgers' 3-1 lead didn't hold up as Hong-Chih Kuo and Octavio Dotel coughed it up in the ninth inning.
August 2, 2009: Billingsley was dominant with nine strikeouts in five scoreless innings, but left early thanks to a cramp in his leg. He still got the win, however. This game was on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and also featured a pinch-hit single by none other than Jason Schmidt.
April 19, 2008: Billingsley struck out eight in the first four innings and held a 1-0 lead, but the Braves rallied for four runs in the fifth inning to hang Billingsley with the loss. Billingsley struck out nine, and walked five, in his five-inning start.
That's a total of five runs in 17 innings (a 2.65 ERA) in Billingsley's three starts in Atlanta, with seven walks and 26 strikeouts.
Billingsley, who has thrown 241 pitches in his last two starts, is on five days rest tonight. This season he has made a whopping 13 starts on five days rest, and in those starts he is 6-3 with a 3.40 ERA, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.29, compared to 1.53 in his 12 starts on four days rest.
Lineups
| Dodgers | Braves | |||
| SS | Gordon | CF | Bourn | |
| 1B | Loney | LF | Prado | |
| CF | Kemp | C | McCann | |
| LF | Rivera |
2B | Uggla | |
| RF | Ethier | 3B | Jones | |
| 3B | Miles | 1B | Freeman | |
| C | Barajas | RF | Heyward | |
| 2B | Sellers |
SS | Gonzalez | |
| P | Billingsley | P | Beachy | |
Game Time: 4:35 p.m.
TV: Prime Ticket