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Dodgers seek 3-0 start in San Diego

Apr 7, 2012 - 2:38 PM (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Dodgers try to make it three straight wins to start their season this evening when they continue their four-game set against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

After the Dodgers won Thursday's opener, Chad Billingsley sparkled on Friday, coming within two outs of throwing a shutout, as Los Angeles rolled to a 6-0 win.

The big outing by Billingsley (1-0) was just what the Dodgers needed after the team got just three innings on Thursday from flu-ridden NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw. Billingsley retired 16 straight batters before allowing a one-out hit in the ninth and was taken out for Jamey Wright, who got two outs to finish off the shutout.

"I've talked about us seeing Kershaw grow up, but we've seen Billingsley in the same timeline," said Padres manager Bud Black. "Tonight was probably as good as I've seen him."

Billingsley allowed just three hits and a walk and struck out 11 in his 8 1/3 innings while Andre Ethier knocked in four of LA's six runs for the Dodgers, who won their first two games of last season but haven't started a year with three straight victories since 1999.

"Those guys set the tone for us," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said of his starters.

San Diego, which hasn't opened a year with three straight losses since 2003, committed two errors and had three hits one day after having three errors and five hits in the opener.

Padres starter Cory Luebke (0-1) gave up six runs -- five earned -- on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings to take the loss.

Getting the call for the Dodgers tonight will be lefty Chris Capuano, who signed with the Dodgers this offseason after spending last year with the New York Mets in 2011.

Capuano went 11-12 a year ago with a 4.55 earned run average in 33 games (31 starts). The 31 starts were especially important since he had made just nine in 2010 after missing all of 2008 and '09 recovering from Tommy John surgery.

He is 4-2 with a 3.65 ERA in eight games (seven starts) against the Padres, losing his only two games in San Diego. However, he hasn't pitched there since a loss with Milwaukee on May 10, 2006.

San Diego, meanwhile, will counter with righty Dustin Moseley, who battled a pair of shoulder dislocations last season before shutting it down in late July to have surgery. He was only 3-10 last season, but run support was a problem, as he pitched to a career-best 3.30.

In fact he opened the year 0-3 but had a 1.40 ERA. The Padres, though, managed no runs for him in his first four starts. The 2.55 runs per start the Padres provided him in 20 starts last season was the worst in the league.

Los Angeles won 13 of its 18 games against the Padres a season ago, including six of the nine matchups in San Diego.