Los Angeles @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 16, 2011 ) LA Dodgers 2, Arizona 3
THE STORY: Arizona Diamondbacks righthander Daniel Hudson has been far from sharp over his last two outings, but he still hasn’t lost since the middle of May. Part of the reason for that is his performance at the plate. Hudson will try to use his arm – and bat- to post a seventh straight winning decision on Sunday against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers.
TV: 4:10 p.m., ET Fox Sports Prime Ticket, Fox Sports Arizona
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Daniel Hudson (9-5, 3.74 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Ted Lilly (6-9, 4.79 ERA).
Hudson, who hasn’t lost since May 12, has been lucky that he hasn’t received a decision over his last two starts. The righthander has yielded seven runs in his last nine innings after posting a 2.77 ERA over his previous nine starts. He allowed two earned runs and eight hits in five innings of a 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 9. Hudson, who leads all pitchers with a .333 average and nine RBIs, had a two-run single in that contest. He faced the Dodgers in his final start of last season and allowed two runs and two hits in 8 2/3 innings of a 5-2 victory on Sept. 25.
Lilly ended a four-game losing streak by allowing one run and four hits in five innings against San Diego on July 10. The lefthander is 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 10 games – eight starts – versus Arizona. The Diamondbacks tagged him for four runs and five hits in six innings in a 4-1 win on May 15. All-Star Justin Upton can’t be thrilled to face Lilly, though. He has just two hits in 13 at-bats against him.
ABOUT THE DIAMONDBACKS (50-44): Arizona recalled Brandon Allen on Friday in order to get more production out of the first base position. Allen, who hit 18 homers in Triple-A Reno, is taking the place of Juan Miranda, who was hitting just .213. After striking out with the tying runs on base as a pinch hitter Friday, Allen redeemed himself by belting a three-run homer to lift Arizona to a 3-2 win Saturday. Allen’s clutch homer and seven solid innings from Ian Kennedy helped the Diamondbacks avoid their first four-game losing streak since May 13.
ABOUT THE DODGERS (42-52): Los Angeles is the epitome of a one-man team. All-Star Matt Kemp homered for the second straight game, but the Dodgers had their season-best five-game winning streak snapped Saturday. Kemp is tied with St. Louis’ Lance Berkman for the National League home run lead with 24. He has accounted for 36 percent of the team’s home runs (66), which is the highest percentage in the majors. The next closest is Toronto’s Jose Bautista at 29 percent (31-of-107). Los Angeles’ recent winning streak was largely due to a pitching staff which entered Saturday with the second-best ERA in baseball this month (2.41).
FINAL PITCH: Lilly hasn’t issued more than two walks in 31 starts since being traded to Los Angeles at the July 31 deadline last season. That is the longest streak in the majors.