(Best E Casino) - The National League West-leading
Los Angeles Dodgers will try to stay perfect on their 11-game homestand tonight, when they play the first of two straight games versus the
Arizona Diamondbacks at Chavez Ravine.
Los Angeles opened the residency with a four-game sweep of the San Diego Padres and closed out the set with Sunday's 7-3 victory behind another strong outing from starting pitcher Chad Billingsley. Billingsley improved to 5-0 in six starts this season with seven innings of two-run ball and also struck out eight batters, helping the Dodgers to a 10-0 mark at home this season.
Joe Torre's ballclub broke the club record 9-0 start set back in 1946, when the Dodgers were located in Brooklyn. The 10-0 start also ties a National League record, and the Dodgers became the first team to accomplish the feat since the 1983 Braves, who were managed by Torre at the time.
Orlando Hudson had two doubles and three RBI in the win, while Juan Pierre finished with two hits, two runs scored and knocked in a run. LA will also welcome Washington and San Francisco to town on the homestand.
Taking the ball for the Dodgers on Monday will be Eric Stults. Stults is 0-1 in his last two starts after winning his first two outings of the season, and lost his previous trip to the mound on April 29 at San Francisco. He gave up five runs in just 2 2/3 innings of a 9-4 decision, falling to 2-1 in four starts and raising his ERA to 5.50.
The left-hander beat Arizona in the desert on April 11 this season, as he held the D'Backs to one run on four hits through 5 1/3 innings of an 11-2 blowout. Stults is 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA in two career games (one start) against Arizona.
Arizona split a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park to kick off an eight-game road trip, and is coming off Sunday's 4-3 setback. Juan Gutierrez took the loss for allowing a run over 1 1/3 innings in relief of Yusmeiro Petit, who gave up three runs on four hits in five frames.
Mark Reynolds, Justin Upton and Miguel Montero each slugged solo home runs in the seventh inning to provide the Arizona offense. The Diamondbacks will also visit San Diego on the road swing.
Taking the ball for the D'Backs on Monday will be Doug Davis, who is 2-3 with a 2.91 earned run average in five starts this season. Davis has won two of his previous three appearances and defeated the Chicago Cubs the last time out on April 29, yielding only two hits over seven shutout innings.
Davis, a left-hander, owns a 5-3 record and a 3.04 ERA in nine career starts against the Dodgers, who won two of three games at Arizona's Chase Field from April 10-12 this season.
Los Angeles is 7-1 in the past eight meetings with the Diamondbacks.