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Dodgers, Brewers aim to continue strong play in August

Aug 17, 2008 - 7:56 AM Milwaukee (71-53) at LA Dodgers (63-60) 4:10 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- For teams fighting for their postseason lives, the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers have provided nothing short of playoff-caliber baseball this weekend.

Both the Brewers and the Dodgers attempt to continue their strong play in August when they meet on Sunday.

Milwaukee, 11-4 this month, entered this series hoping to continue a stretch in which it had won eight of nine. But after jumping to a 3-1 lead on Friday, the Dodgers responded with four runs to take the opener, 5-3.

Los Angeles, 9-6 in August, appeared to be on its way to a sixth consecutive win, holding a 2-1 advantage over the Brewers after seven frames on Saturday.

However, J.J. Hardy hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth and, after his miscue allowed the tying run to score in the ninth, singled in the game-winning run in the 10th to push the Brewers to victory.

In an attempt to claim their second straight series, the Dodgers will turn to rookie Clayton Kershaw (2-3, 3.78 ERA), who has posted victories in two of his last four outings after taking 10 starts to earn his first career victory.

However, the 20-year-old lefthander took his eighth no-decision in 13 starts on Tuesday after yielding three runs and six hits over six frames, striking out eight in Los Angeles' 4-3 win over Philadelphia.

He'll be opposed by Jeff Suppan (8-7, 4.56), who will be seeking his fourth consecutive victory. The righthander collected the win in a 5-2 triumph over San Diego on Tuesday, when he yielded two runs and four hits over eight innings.