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Brewers-Dodgers Preview

Jul 10, 2015 - 6:34 AM Superb performances from Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke are major reasons why the Los Angeles Dodgers will enter the All-Star break atop the NL West.

Mike Bolsinger looks to contribute by winning for the first time in a month Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Dodgers (49-38) have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball with a 3.28 ERA and arguably the best one-two punch in Kershaw and Greinke.

Kershaw dominated Philadelphia on Wednesday, tossing an eight-hitter while striking out 13 in a 5-0 win.

Greinke followed with his own stellar outing in the finale of the four-game set Thursday, retiring the last 21 batters he faced while allowing one hit in eight innings of a 6-0 victory. He extended his career-high shutout streak to 35 2-3 innings and is a favorite to start Tuesday's All-Star Game in Cincinnati.

The Dodgers are hoping Bolsinger (4-3, 3.09 ERA) can draw some inspiration from Kershaw and Greinke.

The right-hander is 0-2 with a 4.94 ERA over his last five starts. He's lost both at home over that stretch, surrendering nine runs with five walks in 10 1-3 innings after winning his first four at Dodgers Stadium behind a 1.01 ERA.

Bolsinger was charged with four runs and nine hits in five innings of an 8-0 home loss to the New York Mets on Sunday.

"A little unlucky," manager Don Mattingly said. "He hung in there. I didn't think it was that bad. He wasn't getting squared up all over the yard. He kind of limited the damage."

Bolsinger allowed seven runs and 14 hits - four homers - in 11 1-2 innings over two starts against the Brewers (37-50) last year, losing his only decision with Arizona.

Yasiel Puig snapped out of his recent slump Thursday, collecting a season-high four RBIs with a homer and a double. He was batting .188 with no RBIs over the previous 14 games.

He's 5 for 13 with in three home games versus Milwaukee.

The Brewers are on a seven-game road winning streak, their longest since a nine-game run that followed the 2008 All-Star break.

Milwaukee avoided a three-game sweep at home to Atlanta on Wednesday when Carlos Gomez hit a three-run shot in the eighth in a 6-5 win.

He's 7 for 17 with three homers and 10 RBIs in his last five games. Gomez has homered four times while going 13 for 30 with eight RBIs in the past eight games at Los Angeles.

Jimmy Nelson (6-8, 4.50) is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers and he takes the mound looking to win a career-high fourth consecutive start.

The right-hander, though, has failed to complete the sixth in the last two, coming one out shy in Saturday's 7-3 win at Cincinnati. He gave up three runs, with two coming after sitting through the Brewers' lengthy six-run fifth.

"He did a really nice job," manager Craig Counsell told MLB's official website. "I just thought that fifth inning, it felt like it was 45 minutes and it's hard for any pitcher to sit there for that long. So I thought he could go longer in the game, but it happens, guys that sit there for that long you get a little bit out of rhythm."