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Dodgers RHP Penny looks for rare win in New York

Aug 24, 2007 - 2:32 PM La Dodgers (66-61) at Ny Mets (72-53) 7:10 pm EDT

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) - Brad Penny looks to solve his woes at Shea Stadium as he takes the hill for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a three-game series with the New York Mets on Friday.

Penny (14-3, 2.59 ERA) has struggled throughout his career against the Mets going 5-10, but even more so at Shea. The righthander, who is looking to tie Carlos Zambrano for the National League lead in wins, is 1-8 with a 6.75 ERA in 10 starts here.

However, Penny is 4-0 with a 2.01 ERA in his last six road starts. In his last outing Penny allowed one run and five hits with a season-high five walks in five innings, but received a no-decision in a 4-3 win over Colorado on Sunday. Los Angeles, which has won six of eight, posted a 5-2 win over Philadelphia on Thursday, and trails the San Diego Padres (68-58) by 2 1/2 games in the wild card race.

Meanwhile, New York lost its third straight home series as Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homer in the 10th to help San Diego post a 9-8 win, in a game where both Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner blew save opportunities.

Oliver Perez (8-11, 3.52) takes the hill for the Mets, who have lost two straight after a season-high four-game winning streak. Perez, who has failed to last six innings in each of his last three starts, beat Washington on Saturday by allowing three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 7-4 win.

Carlos Beltran has been on fire, driving in 13 runs in his last four games for New York, which leads the Philadelphia Phillies (66-60) by five games and the Atlanta Braves (66-62) by six games in the National League East.