The Dodgers started off their homestand on a sour note, getting swept by the Reds, but look to get back on track starting a series with the Houston Astros Friday night at Dodger Stadium. Ted Lilly gets the start for the Dodgers in the opener, against Brett Myers for Houston. There are 14 interleague series this weekend, but the Astros and Dodgers are playing the lone National League affair.
Lilly is 5-5 with a 3.98 ERA this season, but has been a control machine in his last five starts. In those five starts, Lilly has a 2.61 ERA with just four walks and 22 strikeouts in 31 innings. Lilly has made 26 starts as a Dodger dating back to last season, and has never walked more than two batters. In those 26 starts, Lilly has 30 total walks, only 27 unintentional.
The Dodgers lost two of three in Houston last month, with the Astros winning twice in their final at-bat. Myers, who was 14-8 with a 3.14 ERA last season for the Astros, is 2-6 with a 5.03 ERA this season in 14 starts. He leads the National League with 18 home runs allowed. Houston has lost three straight games and 11 of their last 13 contests.
Matt Kemp has played all 70 games this season, starting 69 games, and leads the National League in home runs (20), slugging percentage (.638), OPS (1.058), OPS+ (196), wOBA (.456), wRC+ (193), and intentional walks (nine). Kemp is 4-for-12 with a home run off Myers, but hasn't faced him since 2008.
The Dodgers are expected to get relief pitchers Kenley Jansen and perhaps Hong-Chih Kuo back soon, maybe even this weekend. Both have pitched on a rehab assignment for over a week. Kuo even pitched back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday, a rarity for the left-hander, for Triple A Albuquerque.
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.