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Dodgers-Diamondbacks Preview

Aug 13, 2009 - 10:11 PM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Los Angeles (69-46) at Arizona (52-63), 9:40 p.m. EDT

The Los Angeles Dodgers probably weren't thrilled to see back-to-back games against two of the NL's top Cy Young Award contenders on their schedule, but they may actually have the advantage in Friday's pitching matchup.

While Arizona's Dan Haren will be trying to rebound from some recent struggles, Clayton Kershaw will be hoping to build on perhaps the most dominating start of his career as Los Angeles continues its road trip with the first of three against the Diamondbacks.

Although they still lost 4-2 in 10 innings, the Dodgers (69-46) avoided losing to San Francisco's Tim Lincecum on Wednesday, as Andre Ethier's RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning tied the game and chased the presumptive frontrunner for his second straight Cy Young Award.

Haren (11-7, 2.57 ERA) had a better ERA than Lincecum for parts of the season, lowering that mark to 1.96 in his first start after the All-Star break. Since then, however, he's fallen victim to his typical second-half problems, going 1-2 with a 6.26 ERA in his last four starts.

He allowed five runs in six innings of a 5-2 loss at Washington on Saturday, raising his career ERA after the break to 4.17.

"I'm trying not to look too much into it," Haren told the Diamondbacks' official Web site. "Everybody goes through stretches like this. The main thing is getting yourself out of them."

Even though he is winless in his last four starts - almost solely due to poor run support - Kershaw (8-6, 2.73) has no interest in changing his form. He allowed two hits and one walk in seven scoreless innings Saturday against Atlanta, striking out 10 in the Dodgers' 2-1, 10-inning loss.

It was the seventh time in 11 starts that Kershaw did not allow any runs, and he is 5-1 with a 1.06 ERA over that span.

"Kershaw took care of what he could control," manager Joe Torre said. "After his last outing, he became very determined - not that he wasn't determined the last outing, but this kid has a lot of heart. And certainly, you know his ability."

Haren had a similarly frustrating experience on June 2, the last time he faced the Dodgers. He allowed one run and two hits in seven innings and left with a 5-1 lead, but Los Angeles scored five runs off the bullpen in the ninth inning for a 6-5 win.

He's 0-3 with a 5.09 ERA in his last four starts against the Dodgers, all since Los Angeles acquired Manny Ramirez. Ramirez is 10 for 20 (.500) with two home runs in his career against Haren.

While their once-sizable lead in the NL West is now five games over Colorado, Torre feels the Dodgers are back on track despite failing to complete a sweep of the three-game series.

"It got our fight back," he said of the Giants series. "I like where we are. It's been a long three weeks for us. I feel we're back in a good place right now as far as just the intensity with which we are playing. ... It lets you see where we are against a team sitting behind you. It was a way to measure."

The Dodgers are 6-2 against Arizona, which they play 10 times in the next four weeks, and 32-13 versus the NL West

Arizona (52-63) also took two of three from the New York Mets this week, but third baseman Mark Reynolds seems to finally be cooling off. After hitting 11 home runs and 17 RBIs his previous 14 games, Reynolds is 0 for 8 with four strikeouts in his last two contests.