The Dodgers have been blanked a league-high eight times this season.
Two negative streaks continued Sunday when the
Los Angeles Dodgers dropped a 2-0 decision to the Boston Red Sox. It was the league-leading eighth time the Dodgers were blanked this season, and it marked the Dodgers seventh straight loss to an American League foe.
The Dodgers will attempt to reverse both trends Tuesday night when they make the short trip to Anaheim for a quick rematch with a Los Angeles Angels team that swept them in a three-game series earlier this month.
The Angels are also a sizzling 16-6 in their last 22 overall outings.
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The Dodgers began this nine-game road excursion by taking two of three at Cincinnati before getting swept by the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The losses lowered the Dodgers' road record to 15-18 and left them 2-7 against AL clubs this season. That's tied with Pittsburgh for baseball's poorest interleague record.
Struggling against the Junior Circuit is nothing new for the Dodgers, evidenced by a 26-55 record in their last 81 meetings versus AL foes.
Those struggles continued earlier this month when the Angels swept the Dodgers right out of Dodger Stadium during a three-game series. The Angels outscored the Dodgers 20-8, with two of the three matches skipping ‘over' the closing total. In fact, the ‘over' is now 6-2 in the last eight series meetings.
Jered Weaver, Scott Kazmir and Joel Pineiro got the better of Chad Billingsley, John Ely and Carlos Monasterios in that series, with the Dodgers closing in the favorite role during the first two outings. Ironically, Billingsley (groin) and Monasterios (finger) are now on the 15-day disabled list.
The Dodgers will also be without starting shortstop Rafael Furcal (bereavement list) for the near future. Starting third baseman Blake DeWitt, who left Sunday's game after being hit in the leg with a pitch, is listed as "probable."
Tuesday's opener features two pitchers who did not see action in the first series. Clayton Kershaw (7-3, 2.96 ERA) gets the ball for the Dodgers against Angels right-hander Ervin Santana (6-5, 3.91).
Kershaw is 6-1 in his last eight starts, while the Dodgers are a nifty 10-4 in his first 14 assignments this season.
The 22-year-old southpaw is off last Wednesday's 6-2 victory against Cincinnati as a 118 road favorite. The Texas native allowed just one run on seven hits in 7 1/3 innings spanning 110 pitches. He fanned seven Reds, and has now whiffed 34 batters in his last four starts spanning 26 innings.
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The ‘under' is 10-4 in Kershaw's 14 starts this season and 10-1 in his last 11 road assignments.
Santana has dropped his last two starts after reeling off five straight wins. The fire-balling right-hander is off last Tuesday's 7-1 loss against Milwaukee as a 185 home favorite.
The 27-year-old was touched for a season-high six runs on 10 hits in five innings spanning 103 pitches. He walked two and fanned six. The Angels slipped to 8-6 in Santana's first 14 starts, with the ‘over/under' split evenly.
Tuesday will mark the beginning of a season-high 12-game homestand for the Angels. However, that may not be a good thing. The Angels are one of just three AL teams with a better record on the road (22-18) than at home (17-15).
Though the Angels are six games above .500 entering this series, they are minus-10 (341-351) in run differential. The Angels are 12-12 against southpaw starters and 11-7 in one-run games.
The Dodgers are 30-21 against right-handed starters and have a plus-five run differential (321-316). Joe Torre's troops are also a league-best 15-8 in one-run games.