Padres at Dodgers
Matt
Kemp continues to dominate National League pitching. The center fielder
is batting .457 with five homers and 15 RBIs in leading the Los Angeles
Dodgers to their best start in more than three decades. The Dodgers
will attempt to match the 9-1 start they had in 1981 - when they won the
World Series - as they go for a three-game sweep of the San Diego
Padres on Sunday. The Dodgers are 5-0 at home.
The Padres, who
travel to Colorado for a three-game series starting Monday, have dropped
seven of their first nine games while batting .178 as a team. San Diego
managed only an infield hit Saturday after scoring a run in the first
inning en route to its 15th loss in the last 18 games against the
Dodgers. Chase Headley is batting .207 with eight RBIs to lead the
Padres, who have scored two or less runs in five games.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, FS San Diego, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Edinson Volquez (0-1, 3.00) vs. Dodgers LH Clayton Kershaw (0-0, 0.90)
Volquez
allowed three hits and two runs in the opening inning of his last start
Tuesday, but shut out Arizona over the next six frames on only two
hits. Volquez has struck out 15 and walked seven in 12 innings. Volquez
is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA against the Dodgers in his career over 12
innings.
Kershaw has given up only one run on six hits in his
first 10 innings of the season. He only pitched three innings in his
first start before leaving with the flu. The 2011 Cy Young Award winner
is 7-3 lifetime against the Padres with a 2.24 ERA and 70 strikeouts
over 88 1/3 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Dodgers closer Javy Guerra is 5-for-5 in save opportunities, allowing only one hit in five innings, and has had two days off.
2. San Diego has worked 42 walks, tied with the Washington Nationals for the major league lead.
3.
Dodgers reliever Todd Coffey was placed on the disabled list with a
right knee injury to make room for Ted Lilly, who came off the disabled
list to start Saturday.