With the Dodgers and Cubs less than an hour away from first pitch, here are a few things to consider:
- Eric Milton (1-0. 3.00) makes his third start of the year for the Dodgers. Milton won his first game in nearly three years his last time out, limiting the Rockies to a single run over five innings. He didn’t pitch at all last season because of Tommy John surgery. He was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque on May 14.
- Sean Marshall (3-3, 3.70) toes the rubber for the Cubs. He pitched five innings in a rain-shortened win over the the Pirates on Wednesday, allowing one run while striking out six. He’s lowered his ERA from 4.15 to 3.70 over his last four starts. Left-handed batters are just 6-for-35 (.171) off the 26-year-old southpaw.
- Alfonso Soriano has a .133 batting average over his last 11 games that has seen his batting average dip to .246, but he is 6-for-12 (no homers) in his career vs. Milton.
- Juan Pierre is batting .394 since taking over left field for the suspended Manny Ramirez on May 7. The Dodgers are 13-9 in that time.
- The Cubs have gone deep in eight straight games.
- Reed Johnson has three homers and six RBI in over his last six games after failing to homer in the season’s first 24 games.
- The Dodgers were shut out for the first time this season on Saturday. They have yet to lose three in a row this season.
- After winning the National League’s Rookie of the Year award in 2008, Geovany Soto has struggled this season with a .215/.338/.273 line. He has homered just once in 121 at-bats.
- Without the presence of Ramirez, Andre Ethier’s batting average has dropped from .327 to .257. He was among the league leaders in RBI when the month started, but he has just three RBI in his last 20 games.
- The injury-riddled Cubs have won four of their last five games to bring their record to 15-12 this month.