Dodgers Pregame Notes: Sale Approved, Lilly Ready, Loney, Gordon Sit

The rain has put a damper on a day Judge Kevin Gross approved the Dodgers sale in Delaware Bankruptcy Court, but the Dodger Stadium grounds crew and team have said that they plan to get Friday night's game against the Padres in. Aaron Harang gets the start tonight, and the plan is for Ted Lilly to come off the disabled list to start on Saturday.

If there is a rainout tonight before Harang pitches, he would remain in turn and pitch tomorrow, but manager Don Mattingly thought that was highly unlikely. "I don't think we're going to need a plan B. It sounds like we're okay," Mattingly said.

As for Lilly, he said he is fully recovered from the neck stiffness that caused him to miss two spring starts, and more than anything is anxious to get back on the field. He said teammates would joke with him by asking, "Hey, when are you going to play again?"

"It's hard enough when you're not on the DL and have to wait four days before you can play again," said Lilly.

Lilly allowed two home runs and seven runs in six innings in a rehab start on Sunday with Class A Rancho Cucamonga, and said he wasn't really happy with his outing but that there was a silver lining.

"I wasn't good enough to win. I was happy in the fact that I went out there and threw the ball without any pain," Lilly said. "Even in a rehab start in Single A, I want everything to go well for health reasons. But I also don't think it's too greedy to get results, pitch effectively, and help the team win there."

Manager Don Mattingly wasn't concerned with the results, but just that his pitcher was healthy and ready to pitch Saturday, which he now is.

"To me those numbers are like spring training numbers. When the guy tells us two of [the home runs] he thought were fly balls could have been outs," Mattingly said. "I've seen many guys, pretty good pitchers go down and get beat up in Triple A or A ball, or you send them down to spring training and they get killed, then the season starts and they're fine."

Starting Lineups

Though James Loney is sitting tonight for the third time in four games against left-handed pitchers, Mattingly insists his first baseman isn't being platooned.

"If James was crushing it he would have probably been in there tonight," said Mattingly, who noted Loney would start against the two right-handed pitchers scheduled to pitch Saturday and Sunday, in Joe Wieland and Edinson Volquez.

"I'm just trying to get him going. I don't look at a strict platoon," Mattingly said. "Once he gets going, I'm not worried about it. I just have to get him going."

Dee Gordon, 2-for-16 with a walk in his last four games, gets his first day off of the season. Mattingly said his light shortstop would get occasional days off, and tonight was as good a night as any facing lefty Clayton Richard.

"More than anything, it's just a day off for Dee," Mattingly said. "Those flyballs tells me he got out of his game a little bit yesterday. He's going to need a day here and there.

"He has a lot of responsibility. He's playing short and is trying to steal bags. Giving him a mental day off once in a while to watch the game is not going to hurt a bit."

Game Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: Prime Ticket

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