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Wolf, Young square off when Dodgers meet Padres

Apr 7, 2009 - 4:52 AM By Jeff Mezydlo STATS Senior Writer

LA Dodgers (1-0) at San Diego (0-1) 10:05 p.m. EDT

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Randy Wolf enjoyed some success in his last stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers before a shoulder injury led to a premature end to his only previous season with them.

Back with the club, Wolf looks to help the visiting Dodgers to a second straight victory Tuesday night over the San Diego Padres, the team with whom he pitched part of last season.

In a Los Angeles rotation filled with talented young arms, Wolf is the obvious veteran presence at just 32 years old. The left-hander went 9-6 with a 4.73 ERA in 18 starts in 2007 for the Dodgers until shoulder trouble sidelined him in midseason.

After undergoing arthroscopic surgery, the southern California native signed with San Diego before last season and was 6-10 with a 4.74 ERA in 21 starts before the Padres traded him to Houston, where he went 6-2 with a 3.57 ERA in 12 starts.

During a strange offseason in which he had offers submitted, pulled and reduced from various clubs, including Houston, due to the lean economic climate, Wolf signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Dodgers to help them replace Derek Lowe after he signed with Atlanta.

"Look at the way the country's been," Wolf said. "Hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs. That's why I'm lucky to play baseball for the Dodgers."

Now set to face his former team for the first time since being dealt, Wolf is 5-3 with a 5.94 ERA in nine starts against the Padres, who are looking to avoid a fourth straight home loss to the Dodgers.

Despite an 0-for-3 night from Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers gave opening-day starter Hiroki Kuroda more than enough support in Monday's 4-1 win.

James Loney went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Matt Kemp homered and Rafael Furcal and Andre Ethier each had two hits for Los Angeles, which will try to win its opening series for the second straight season.

"That's as good of a lineup that you'll face - a little bit of everything," said Monday's loser Jake Peavy. "That's a team to be reckoned with."

Despite going hitless in the opener, Ramirez has hit four homers and drove in 10 runs in his last six games versus San Diego. He is 3-for-9 with a home run and four RBIs in his career against Padres' scheduled starter Chris Young.

Young went 7-6 with a 3.96 ERA in 18 starts last season, but missed more than two months after being hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of St. Louis' Albert Pujols in May.

An All-Star in 2007, opposing hitters are batting .204 against Young since the beginning of the 2006 season. That's the lowest average against any pitcher with at least 300 innings during that span.

"Every time you take the mound and somebody's in the batter's box, you want to get him out," Young told the Padres' official Web site. "But there's something different about it when the lights come on and the season starts. You're prepared."

The right-hander hopes to improve on his 1-4 mark with a 4.03 ERA in 11 career starts against the Dodgers, but will need more run support from his team than they gave Peavy on Monday.

Brian Giles drove in a run and had one of San Diego's five hits. He is just 2-for-15 with an RBI and three strikeouts against Wolf.