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Brewers-Dodgers Preview

Aug 4, 2009 - 6:44 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Milwaukee (53-53) at Los Angeles (65-41), 10:10 p.m. EDT

Less than two weeks ago, Manny Ramirez came through with a dramatic grand slam in a win for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hasn't had many productive plate appearances since.

After dropping the opener, Ramirez and the Dodgers look to avoid another loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night when the clubs continue a three-game series.

Ramirez went 1 for 5 in Los Angeles' 6-5 loss to Milwaukee (53-53) on Monday, flying out to right with the bases loaded in the ninth after the Dodgers (65-41) had fought back from a five-run deficit.

"That's not necessarily the situation you want to be facing Manny in, that's for sure," said Trevor Hoffman, who earned his 24th save of the season and 578th of his career.

"He's prolific with the bases loaded, and (I had) not great stuff on the mound," he added.

The left fielder is hitting .186 (8 for 43) since being hit by a pitch on the left hand July 21. The following night he hit a pinch-hit grand slam in a 6-2 win over Cincinnati, but Ramirez has struck out 13 times, grounded into two double plays and gone a season-high 10 straight games without an RBI.

The Dodgers, who still have the best record in the majors, are 4-7 since the July 22 win over the Reds, although Ramirez's slump may not be the biggest problem since Los Angeles is still averaging 6.1 runs and hitting .306 over those 11 games.

Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, who grew up in nearby Mission Hills, had four hits, including a three-run homer off Jeff Weaver in the sixth to make it 6-1. Braun came in 3 for 20 (.150) in his previous five games and was 1 for 14 (.071) at home against the Dodgers last month.

A victory Tuesday would give the Brewers their first series win at Dodger Stadium since 2003, and would be their first overall series win since taking two of three against the New York Mets from June 29-July 1. Milwaukee was 0-6-2 in series since, losing to last-place teams Pittsburgh and San Diego while splitting a set against major league-worst Washington.

The Brewers dropped from first place to fourth in the NL Central during a dismal July, yet they're still just four games off the division lead in third place.

"We're still in this," Braun said. "I think people sometimes lose sight of that. We still have two months to go."

Milwaukee, which hasn't won three in a row since June 15-17, will hand the ball to Yovani Gallardo (10-7, 3.13 ERA), who is looking to win his third straight start.

The right-hander has a 1.88 ERA in his last two outings. He gave up three runs while striking out 11 in a 7-3 victory over the Nationals on Thursday.

Gallardo lasted five innings against the Dodgers on July 12, allowing five runs while walking four in a 7-4 loss.

Hiroki Kuroda (4-5, 4.44) made a relief appearance in that game for Los Angeles and gave up three runs and two hits in 1 1-3 innings. He's returned to the rotation, but remains winless since beating San Diego on July 3.

The right-hander gave up two runs and four hits in six innings of a 5-3, 10-inning win over the Cardinals on Thursday.