• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Cubs-Dodgers Preview

Jul 11, 2010 - 1:19 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Chicago (38-49) at Los Angeles (48-38), 8:05 p.m. EDT

The Chicago Cubs have a chance to spend the All-Star break with 40 wins instead of 50 losses, and Carlos Silva hopes he can account for a quarter of those victories.

Silva is scheduled to pitch Sunday despite a calf injury, and he'll be trying to win 10 games before the break for the first time in his career as the visiting Cubs look to salvage a four-game split with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

An early offensive outburst Saturday helped the disappointing Cubs (39-49) improve to 4-2 on their current road trip with a 7-3 win at Dodger Stadium, and Aramis Ramirez chipped in with his fourth home run in five games.

Ramirez has posted five consecutive multi-hit games to raise his average from .178 to .209, a big reason the Cubs are averaging 6.5 runs on this trip.

Silva (9-2, 2.96 ERA) has been a major contributor for the Cubs all season despite winning a total of five games over the last two years with Seattle.

Chicago acquired the burly right-hander from the Mariners for beleaguered outfielder Milton Bradley in the offseason, and he has been perhaps the team's biggest bright spot with 13 quality starts in 16 outings.

One of those came Tuesday at Arizona, where he snapped a four-start winless drought in a 6-4 victory. Silva could have gone deeper in that game, but he left after six innings and 74 pitches with a sore right calf.

"It's been like all year long, this problem with the leg," Silva said. "I try to pitch through it. It's kind of hard."

Silva told the Cubs' official website Saturday that he was "good" to pitch. While he hasn't faced the Dodgers since 2006, Silva is 2-0 with a 3.21 ERA in two starts against Los Angeles.

The Dodgers (48-39) had won eight of 11 before Saturday's defeat, which ensured they won't have a share of the NL West lead during the break. But they're still in good position in the crowded division, in part because of the recent resurgence of Vicente Padilla.

The right-hander returns to the mound Sunday looking to win a third consecutive start for the first time since June 2008.

Padilla (3-2, 4.72) struggled in April and spent nearly two months on the disabled list with an inflamed nerve in his arm, but has posted a 2.18 ERA along with 21 strikeouts and two walks in his last three starts.

"All I know is from what we had last year, this guy knows how to pitch," pitching coach Rick Honeycutt told the Dodgers' official website after Padilla limited Florida to two runs in 6 2-3 innings of a 7-3 win Tuesday.

"This guy can pitch with his fastball because he can make it sink, he can run it back to lefties, he can ride it up," Honeycutt added. "He's got excellent command."

Los Angeles won the first two games of this series and is trying to win a home set for the first time since it swept St. Louis from June 7-9. The Dodgers went 2-7 while losing series to the Angels, Yankees and Marlins.

This game will also decide the overall season series between the teams, who've gone 3-3 against each other and won't meet again in 2010.