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Rafael Furcal had five hits in his last 50 at-bats entering tonight's game.
The Dodgers continue their nine-game homestand Saturday night, hosting the Washington Nationals in the second of three weekend games at Dodger Stadium. Ted Lilly gets the start for the Dodgers, facing Tom Gorzelanny of the Nationals in a battle of former Cub left-handers. Here are tonight's starting lineups:
Hairston Jr. LF
Espinosa 2B
Zimmerman 3B
Morse 1B
Werth RF
Ramos C
Ankiel CF
Desmond SS
Gozrelanny P
Furcal SS
Miles 2B
Ethier RF
Kemp CF
Rivera LF
Loney 1B
Uribe 3B
Navarro C
Lilly P
Tonight's 7:10 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Prime Ticket. For more news and information on the Dodgers, or on tonight's game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.
The Dodgers look to rebound from Friday's loss to the Nationals, and to do so they might need Ted Lilly to throw a shutout. The Dodgers have eight team shutouts in their last 32 games, but during that span when they allow their opponents to score they are just 4-20. The Dodgers have scored 21 runs in their last 10 games.
Lilly struck out a season-high nine batters in his last start, but he also allowed four runs in his 6 2/3 innings. Matt Kemp, with his 24 home runs and 27 stolen bases, has deservedly gotten a ton of attention this season, but the Dodgers have another 20/20 man in Lilly. The southpaw has allowed 21 home runs, third in the National League, and 21 stolen bases, second in the NL, in 20 starts this season.
Tom Gorzelanny, Lilly's teammate with the Cubs in 2009 and 2010, gets the start today for the Nationals. On the season, Gorzelanny is 2-6 with a 4.07 ERA. He missed a little over three weeks with left elbow inflammation, and since his return from the disabled list has a 3.71 ERA in five starts with six walks and 24 strikeouts. Gorzelanny was pulled after two innings in his last start, Sunday against Atlanta, after tweaking his right ankle in a home plate collision with catcher Brian McCann.
The Dodgers are 23-28 at Dodger Stadium this season. They are hitting .229/.291/.327 at home, averaging 2.88 runs per game on the season, compared to 4.33 runs per contest on the road.
Tonight's 7:10 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Prime Ticket. For more news and information on the Dodgers, or on tonight's game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.
Rafael Furcal Caps Dodgers Comeback Win Over Nationals, 7-6
The 2011 Dodgers season has been mostly an exercise in futility, and for Rafael Furcal it has been downright hellish. However, the Dodger shortstop broke out of his slump with a great night Saturday night, capping a comeback with a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Dodgers a 7-6 win over the Nationals at Dodger Stadium.
Furcal has had two long stints on the disabled list this season, once with a broken thumb and once with a strained oblique. In the three weeks since his return from his latest DL stint, Furcal had five singles in 49 at-bats, and on the season was hitting just .165/.220/.200 on the season entering tonight. However, tonight Furcal reached base four times. In addition to his game-winning double, Furcal singled, walked, and was hit by a pitch. He scored a run, and also made two stellar plays in the field.
Ted Lilly wasn't so hot on the mound tonight, allowing six runs in five innings of work, but he did set a new career high with three runs batted in. Lilly had three hits in 56 at-bats in his nearly one calendar year as a Dodger before lining a two-run double in the third inning to pull the Dodgers within a run at 6-5.
The Dodgers tied the game on a wild pitch in the seventh, which scored pinch runner Eugenio Velez. The double by Furcal was just the second walk-off of his career, and his first as a Dodger. When he was with Atlanta, Furcal finished off a win against the Expos with a bases loaded walk on July 5, 2003.
Today would have been Don Drysdale's 75th birthday, and he was honored before the game. His sons D.J. and Darren threw out ceremonial first pitches and more than 50 members of the Drysdale family were in attendance. The Dodgers also produced a nearly four-minute video tribute, which is just magnificent, and includes, among other things Drysdale's call of Kirk Gibson's home run in the 1988 World Series.
For more news and information on the Dodgers, or on tonight's game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.
Jul 23 11:23p by Eric Stephen