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Los Angeles Dodgers aim for their eighth straight win at home this evening, when they welcome the
San Francisco Giants to town for the first of three straight games at Chavez Ravine.
Los Angeles is 3 1/2 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the lead in the National League West division and have won seven straight as the host. The Dodgers just went 7-3 on a 10-game road trip and recently won three out of four games against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. In Thursday's 4-3 win in 12 innings, James Loney drove in the go-ahead run in the 12th inning and Jonathan Broxton walked a pair of batters in the home half but held on for his 14th save of the season.
Starter Clayton Kershaw allowed one run and two hits in five innings for the no-decision while Scott Proctor got the win with a scoreless 11th frame. Matt Kemp had two hits and scored two runs and Blake DeWitt added two RBI for LA, which has won seven of nine overall.
Greg Maddux will take the mound for the Dodgers on Friday and he is 1-3 with a 4.55 earned run average in five starts with Los Angeles since coming over from San Diego last month. Maddux has dropped four of his last six outings and did not record a decision the last time out on Sunday at Colorado. In the 1-0 loss to the Rockies, Maddux hurled seven shutout innings of two-hit ball and struck out three batters without issuing a walk.
The four-time NL Cy Young Award winner is 7-12 with a 4.08 ERA with both the Padres and Dodgers this season. Maddux is also 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in four starts against the Giants this year. The right-hander has faced San Francisco 53 times in his career and owns a 30-14 mark with a 2.78 earned run average and five complete games.
San Francisco is on the back end of its 11-game road trip and was just swept in four games by the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. The Giants fell to 3-5 on the trek after Thursday's 3-2 setback as Adam Dunn's RBI single in the eighth inning sealed the sweep for Arizona.
Giants young ace Tim Lincecum was dealt the loss for giving up three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in a complete-game effort. Bengie Molina homered and Pablo Sandoval drove in the other run for the Giants.
Barry Zito will handle pitching duties for the Giants tonight and is 9-16 with a 5.48 earned run average this season. Zito is 3-1 in his last six starts with consecutive no-decisions, including last Sunday's 8-6 win at San Diego. He was reached for six runs -- five earned -- and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings.
The left-hander and 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner last faced the Dodgers on August 8 in a 6-2 setback and yielded five runs through 5 2/3 frames. Zito is 4-4 with a 4.68 earned run average in nine lifetime meetings with LA.
Los Angeles is 7-5 against the Giants this season and sports a 4-2 mark at Dodger Stadium. LA has won 17 of the last 30 matchups with the NL West-rival Giants.
