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Padres-Dodgers Preview

Apr 30, 2009 - 6:58 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

San Diego (11-10) at Los Angeles (14-8), 10:10 p.m. EDT

After a subpar nine-game trip, the Los Angeles Dodgers return home where they haven't dropped a game this season.

Rookie James McDonald hopes to continue that streak on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium as Los Angeles opens a four-game set against the San Diego Padres in a matchup of NL West rivals.

McDonald (1-1, 7.11 ERA) earned his first major league victory in his last start, beating Colorado 6-5 on Saturday. The right-hander yielded five runs and four hits while striking out two and walking a career-high four.

"It was nice to get that first win out of the way," McDonald said. "My fastball command was poor, but my command in my secondary pitches is starting to come around."

In one career appearance against the Padres, McDonald surrendered one hit in one scoreless inning of relief in a 10-1 win on Sept. 23.

He takes the mound after the NL West-leading Dodgers (14-8) dropped five of nine on their trip. Los Angeles, which is 6-0 at home this season, will begin a season-high 11-game homestand.

Manny Ramirez is batting .432 (19-for-44) with three doubles, four homers and 10 RBIs in his last 11 games, but he had just three hits in 14 at-bats as the Dodgers and Padres split four games in San Diego to open the season.

Hitting ninth, Juan Pierre went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Wednesday's 9-4 loss to San Francisco.

"We started to pick up on (San Francisco starter Tim Lincecum) later, but it was too late by then," Pierre said of the Dodgers' three-run eighth inning.

Manager Joe Torre placed starting pitcher Eric Stults in the No. 8 position to try and free up Pierre on the bases and give Ramirez more RBI opportunities.

"It just seemed like a situation where a player like Juan would be freer to steal with (leadoff hitter Rafael) Furcal hitting behind him instead of the pitcher," Torre said.

San Diego (11-10), meanwhile, continues its seven-game road trip at Dodger Stadium, where it has lost eight of 11. The Padres fell for the seventh time in nine games after dropping a 7-5 decision to Colorado on Wednesday.

First baseman Adrian Gonzalez will try to extend his hitting streak to 12 games after hitting his NL-leading eighth and ninth home runs in the latest loss. He has the Padres record for homers in April.

"We didn't give up," Gonzalez said after San Diego rallied from a 7-0 deficit. "We had some good at-bats at the end."

Gonzalez is hitting .381 (16-for-42) during his streak. He went 3-for-12 with a home run against Los Angeles earlier this month.

Josh Geer (0-0, 4.91 ERA) takes the mound for San Diego. The right-hander makes his first start since a seven-inning effort April 19 in a 5-4 loss at Philadelphia.

Geer gave up five runs in four innings of relief in Saturday's 10-1 loss to Pittsburgh after starter Shawn Hill left with soreness in his right biceps.

"They needed me to go out and soak up some innings," Geer said.

This will be Geer's first career appearance against Los Angeles.