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Dodgers-Padres Preview

May 16, 2010 - 6:50 AM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Los Angeles (19-17) at San Diego (22-14), 4:05 p.m. EDT

After a rocky start, the Los Angeles Dodgers have returned to the kind of play that led them to back-to-back NL West titles.

They'll now have to start finding a way to win games without one the major leagues' best players.

With Andre Ethier likely out Sunday, the Dodgers go for their seventh straight win as they meet the San Diego Padres in the final game of a weekend set.

Ethier, who leads the majors with a .392 batting average and 38 RBIs while being tied for the NL lead with 11 homers, broke a bone at the end of his right pinkie during batting practice before Saturday night's 4-1 win.

"It's a big thing," said Ethier, who is expected to be examined by a hand specialist in Los Angeles on Sunday. "It could be a couple of days, it could be longer than that. I'm a little disappointed in the fact that it's something this small."

With Ethier sidelined, the Dodgers (19-17) still managed to extend their longest winning streak of the season. Garret Anderson started for Ethier in right field, and had an RBI triple in four at-bats.

Los Angeles, which got off to an 8-14 start, hasn't won seven in a row since April 30-May 6, 2009. Not having Ethier will make matching that feat tougher.

"He's the best player in the game right now. The best hitter in the game, for sure. It's not something that we're excited about," said pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who notched his third win Saturday. "He's going to be sorely missed in our lineup.

"That said, I don't even know the timetable for him to be out, but tonight we came up without him so we've got to keep going."

Keeping their momentum going also could be tough against San Diego's Wade LeBlanc (2-0, 1.61 ERA).

After allowing 11 hits in 12 1-3 scoreless innings en route to wins over Cincinnati and Milwaukee late last month, the left-hander hasn't recorded a decision in his past two outings. He gave up two runs, six hits and a career high-tying four walks in 4 2-3 innings of a 3-2 win Tuesday at San Francisco.

LeBlanc is 1-2 with a 6.27 ERA in four career starts against the Dodgers. The win came Sept. 4, when he allowed two hits in six scoreless innings of a 2-0 victory.

The Padres (22-14) managed three hits Saturday, two by leadoff hitter Scott Hairston. San Diego, which sits atop the division, hasn't lost three in a row this year.

To avoid that, the Padres will have to beat Chad Billingsley (3-2, 4.82), as he looks for his third win in four starts, and second straight on the road. On Monday, the right-hander gave up two runs and three hits in 5 1-3 innings of Los Angeles' 7-3 win over Arizona.

Billingsley is 7-4 with a 2.74 ERA in 14 career starts against the Padres, and has earned wins in four of the last six matchups.

Dodgers catcher Russell Martin is hitting .310 (13-for-42) with two homers and six RBIs in a 10-game hitting streak. He's 3 for 6 with a homer and two RBIs against LeBlanc.