• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Dodgers-Marlins Preview

May 17, 2009 - 4:26 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Los Angeles (25-12) at Florida (17-19), 1:10 p.m. EDT

No major league pitcher has had a tougher time on the road than the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw. A matchup with the struggling Florida Marlins might not be enough for him to end his woes.

Kershaw looks to win for the first time in five road starts Sunday as the Dodgers face a Marlins team trying to build some momentum at LandShark Stadium in the finale of a three-game series.

Kershaw (1-3, 5.21 ERA) has given Los Angeles (25-13) some outstanding starts this season, but those have been at Dodger Stadium. The left-hander is 0-3 with a major league-worst 9.47 ERA in four road starts.

Picked seventh overall in the 2006 draft, Kershaw suffered another road loss in his last outing, giving up four runs and four hits in five innings of a 5-3 setback to Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Kershaw allowed just one run in his previous two starts, both at home and totaling 12 innings.

This will be Kershaw's first appearance against Florida (18-19), which won 6-3 on Saturday after losing 6-4 in Friday's series opener .

The Marlins snapped a five-game losing streak and now are in position to win two straight at home for the first time since opening 2009 with four straight victories.

"We've been needing a win," second baseman Dan Uggla said. "We need to get on a roll here. We've had a lot of things not go our way the past two to three weeks."

Uggla entered the game batting .182, but walked twice, singled, scored a run and had an RBI. He's batting .178 (8 for 45) in 12 home games against the Dodgers.

Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez, meanwhile, is now batting .363 in 21 games versus Los Angeles after singling in three at-bats Saturday. He has a 13-game hitting streak overall with a .490 (24 for 49) average during that span.

John Koronka (0-1, 9.64) will take the mound for the Marlins. He gave up five runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings on Tuesday in a 6-3 loss to Milwaukee.

Koronka, in the rotation for Anibal Sanchez (shoulder), was making his first start since May 30, 2007 with Texas. The 28-year-old left-hander and Florida native hasn't pitched regularly in the majors since 2006, when he made 23 starts for the Rangers.

He won his only career start against the Dodgers, surrendering three runs and six hits in five innings for the Chicago Cubs in a 9-5 victory in his major league debut in 2005.

Koronka will face a Los Angeles team that went hitless in five at-bats with runners in scoring position Saturday after scoring 20 runs in winning its previous three contests.

Dodgers leadoff hitter Juan Pierre, though, continued his hot hitting as he made his ninth straight start in left field in place of suspended slugger Manny Ramirez. He had three hits to raise his average to .406, stole two bases and scored three times.

Pierre is 9 for 15 (.600) with five stolen bases and four RBIs in his last four road games against the Marlins.