Dodgers Vs. Padres Preview: Yasiel Puig Given Night Off
Dan Haren, who has won three of his last four starts, takes the mound for the Dodgers. Haren is 11-10 with a 4.44 ERA this season and has done relatively well at Petco Park, going 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA in two starts. In his career against San Diego, the right-hander is 6-5 with a 3.87 ERA.
The Padres counter with Andrew Cashner. This season, Cashner is 2-6 with a 3.09 ERA. In four career starts against Los Angeles, Cashner is 0-2. However, his record isn’t indicative of how well he pitched in those games. The right-hander has a career 1.35 ERA against the Dodgers.
As for the offensive side of the plate for the Dodgers, Yasiel Puig won’t start as he has been slumping of late. Though he is batting .301, the Dodgers’ slugger has just two home runs with only 19 RBIs since June 1.
Puig was hitting .398 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs in May. Adrian Gonzalez may give the team a boost offensively as he is hitting .313 with an RBI off Cashner. Carl Crawford is hitting .333 with an RBI off the right-hander as well.
However, Cashner may be a bad match up for Los Angeles as tonight’s Dodgers’ starting lineup is a combined 16-for-69 against him with no home runs and just two RBIs.
The Dodgers enter tonight’s contest with a 4.5-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the National League West Division standings. A win tonight would be the Dodgers’ third consecutive victory.
Dodgers Lineup
2B: Gordon
SS: Ramirez
1B: Gonzalez
RF: Kemp
LF: Crawford
CF: Ethier
3B: Turner
C: Ellis
P: Haren
Padres Lineup
3B: Solarte
CF: Almonte
LF: Smith
1B: Grandal
2B: Gyorko
C: Rivera
RF: Liriano
SS: Amarista
P: Cashner
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