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Penny makes return from DL vs. Giants

Aug 8, 2008 - 10:08 AM LA Dodgers (57-57) at San Francisco (48-65) 10:15 pm EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Nagging shoulder pain forced Brad Penny to take an extended leave from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Perhaps returning against one of the worst offenses in the league will ease his transition back into the rotation.

Penny is expected to come off the disabled list and make his first start in nearly two months on Friday when the Dodgers face the San Francisco Giants.

A 16-game winner in each of the past two seasons, Penny (5-9, 5.88 ERA) had been pitching through a sore shoulder and was clearly not the same. Before going on the DL on June 15, the righthander surrendered four runs or more in six of his last eight starts.

Penny was strong in his last rehab start on Saturday from Class AAA Las Vegas, yielding two runs and six hits over four innings while throwing 50 of his 67 pitches for strikes.

In addition to ending his personal seven-game losing streak, the two-time All-Star will be looking to repeat his only other meeting with the Giants this season, when he tossed 6 2/3 scoreless frames in an Opening Day victory.

This time around, Penny figures to get some help from Manny Ramirez, who is batting .565 with four homers and nine RBI in six games since Los Angeles acquired him from Boston in a three-team deal before the trade deadline.

San Francisco will counter with Barry Zito (6-13, 5.40), who outdueled Jake Peavy to get a win in his last turn. The lefthander yielded three hits over eight innings in a 2-0 win over San Diego on Saturday.

To avoid setting a career high in losses, Zito will need to overcome a year-long trend in which he is 0-3 with a 6.50 ERA after posting a win and a Giants offense that has scored 436 runs, second-lowest in the majors.