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Dodgers-Padres Preview

Jul 28, 2010 - 6:17 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Los Angeles (53-46) at San Diego (58-39), 10:05 p.m. EDT

There are still 12 more games to be played between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, giving Los Angeles plenty of opportunities to make up ground on the NL West leaders.

Given the Dodgers' mastery within their own division, that's a number that should be making the Padres awfully nervous.

After a successful series opener at Petco Park, Los Angeles goes for its sixth win in seven tries against San Diego on Wednesday night.

The Padres (58-40) lead San Francisco by 2 1/2 games and have a five-game cushion on Los Angeles (54-46), but they'll face their two closest pursuers a combined 22 times the rest of the way.

They should be especially concerned about the Dodgers. Manager Joe Torre's team improved to 25-8 against West rivals after Tuesday's 2-0 win in San Diego, with both runs coming courtesy of Andre Ethier's pinch-hit, seventh-inning single.

Ethier, who had been in a 2-for-29 slump, didn't start because of a stomach bug.

"He's such a good hitter, and sometimes when you're a little under the weather, it sort of keeps you from getting too amped up, so to speak," Torre said. "You're just more relaxed than anything else. He hit that ball on the button."

Los Angeles has won all four meetings this season at Petco and five of six overall, holding San Diego to five total runs in its five victories.

The Dodgers certainly haven't needed to worry about the Padres' offense after the eighth inning. Closer Jonathan Broxton has saved all five wins while allowing just one hit.

Hiroki Kuroda (8-8, 3.48 ERA) will try to get the ball to Los Angeles' closer on Wednesday, and that's exactly what he did in his last trip to the mound. Kuroda gave up five hits over eight innings Thursday against the New York Mets before handing it off to Hong-Chih Kuo, who closed out the 2-0 win while Broxton battled food poisoning.

Kuroda, who hasn't faced San Diego this season, is 3-1 with a 4.44 ERA in five career starts at Petco. He's had a tough time against Padres slugger Adrian Gonzalez, who is 5 for 15 with two homers, three doubles and five walks off the right-hander.

Gonzalez, however, is 2 for 22 with nine strikeouts in his last seven home games against the Dodgers.

It hasn't been a great July for San Diego left-hander Clayton Richard (7-5, 3.57), who is 1-1 with a 7.13 ERA in four starts this month. He wasn't terrible Thursday, giving up four runs over six innings, but got charged with an 8-0 loss at Atlanta.

"He couldn't get in a rhythm early in the game, he couldn't seem to get any one pitch he could count on," manager Bud Black said. "When he struggles, the ball-strike ratio is a factor. He's in and out of the strike zone and in deeper counts."

Richard was 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in two home starts against the Dodgers in 2009, throwing seven innings of one-hit ball in a 5-0 win Sept. 30.