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Yankees-Dodgers Preview

Jun 27, 2010 - 4:31 AM By JON PALMIERI STATS Editor

New York (46-27) at Los Angeles (39-34), 8:05 p.m. EDT

Having dropped to third place in the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers are desperate for wins regardless of the opponent.

Getting two straight against the team with the best record in baseball would be an added bonus.

The Dodgers hope to achieve that and close interleague play on a positive note Sunday night in the finale of a three-game set against the New York Yankees.

After losing the opener of this series Friday in manager Joe Torre's first game against his former team, Los Angeles (40-34) rebounded with a 9-4 victory Saturday. Shut down by CC Sabathia the previous night, the Dodgers took advantage of an ineffective A.J. Burnett as James Loney matched a season high with four RBIs.

"Not so many strikes today. I got some in the hole," said Loney, who went 0 for 4 on Friday including a game-ending strikeout. "Guys are getting on base a lot and I'm just trying to produce at those times."

The win was only the second in nine games for the Dodgers, who had dropped four straight at home for the first time since August. Los Angeles improved to 4-10 in interleague play.

"It's important because they're the world champions and they're dangerous," Torre said of beating the Yankees. "Every time we face somebody we have to measure ourselves. It certainly doesn't hurt your confidence when you go out and beat this team."

Although the Dodgers had a big offensive performance Saturday, slumping Russell Martin was limited to one hit in four at-bats. He is 2 for his last 23 and has only four RBIs in 21 games this month.

Mark Teixeira's three-run homer in the first inning staked the Yankees to an early lead, but another poor start by Burnett sent New York to its second loss in seven games.

The Yankees (46-28) are 10-7 against the NL and assured of a winning interleague record for the 11th straight year.

Andy Pettitte (9-2, 2.48 ERA) will be asked to help New York avoid a series loss. The left-hander is putting together another outstanding season, ranking among the AL leaders in wins and ERA while excelling in nearly every category.

He was very good again Tuesday in a 9-3 victory at Arizona, allowing two runs and seven hits in seven innings while striking out seven and walking two.

Pettitte has pitched at least seven innings in six straight starts, his longest such stretch since July 15-Aug. 31, 2005. He is 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA in five road starts this season.

Although he hasn't faced the Dodgers since 2006, Pettitte is plenty familiar with Manny Ramirez, who is hitting .416 with four homers against the southpaw.

Ramirez is batting .442 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his last 12 games overall.

A strong start wasn't enough for the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw (7-4, 3.24) in his most recent outing, a 6-3 loss to the Angels on Tuesday during which he allowed five runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings. The left-hander had a one-hitter through five innings in that game before giving up a three-run homer in the sixth.

"This one hurt, there's no question about it," said Kershaw, who had won six of his previous seven decisions. "We had the lead, and I've got to make that hold up. It's my fault."

Kershaw has pitched well in eight interleague starts, going 2-2 with a 2.91 ERA. He has never faced the Yankees.