The Los Angeles Dodgers got off to a poor start to their second half with a series loss at home to the San Diego Padres, and look to get back on track against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers' pitching rotation was thrown out of whack with Chad Billingsley's elbow inflammation, which pushed both Chris Capuano and Nathan Eovaldi up a day.
Tuesday's starter is yet unknown, but a leading candidate is John Ely, who is 8-6 with a 3.22 ERA in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League with the Triple A Albuquerque Isotopes. Ely, who is striking out a career-high 26.1% of the hitters he has faced this year and walking a career-best 4.9%, was 4-10 with a 5.49 ERA in 18 starts for the Dodgers in 2010. Ely is not on the 40-man roster, so if the Dodgers do decide to add him they will need to make a corresponding move. But that is not a problem since Todd Coffey is out for the season after Tommy John surgery and could be transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
Here are the probable starters for the three-game series at Dodger Stadium:
- Monday, 7:10 p.m. (Prime Ticket): Nathan Eovaldi vs. Joe Blanton
-
Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. (KCAL): TBD vs. Roy Halladay, fresh off the disabled list
-
Wednesday, 12:10 p.m. (Prime Ticket): Clayton Kershaw vs. Cliff Lee
The Dodgers swept a four-game series in Philadelphia from June 4-7.
For more on the Dodgers, check out True Blue LA.
