- After homering in four of the Padres’ six games on the road last week, Adrian Gonzalez returns home to Petco to take on Joe Blanton and the Phillies. Gonzalez is hitting a relatively modest .259 with five homers in 85 at-bats in San Diego this year. He’s at .313 with 15 homers in 96 at-bats on the road.
- Hiroki Kuroda wasn’t any good in his rehab start last week, giving up seven runs -- five earned -- and nine hits over five innings for Single-A Inland Empire, but the Dodgers have still chosen to bring him back to face the Diamondbacks tonight. He was 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in four starts against Arizona as a rookie last year. The Dodgers will have the advantage of facing Billy Buckner, who allowed five runs in a loss to the Padres last time out. Buckner pitched in relief against the Dodgers on April 11 and allowed five runs in two-thirds of an inning. He was demoted to the minors soon afterwards, only to be brought back as a starter on May 22.
- With trade speculation ramping up, Roy Oswalt will take on the Rockies tonight. He’s 6-1 with a 1.84 lifetime against Colorado, but the Roy Oswalt who put up those numbers hasn’t shown up very frequently this season. Coming off three straight no-decisions, Oswalt enters his 12th start of the season with a 1-2 record and a 4.62 ERA. Fellow Opening Day starter Aaron Cook will pitch for Colorado.
- Derek Jeter enters Monday’s game against the Indians with a chance of reaching two milestones: he’s two runs scored away from 1,500 and two hits away from 2,600.
Game of the Night
Cincinnati vs. St. Louis - There are currently 38 starters with at least five wins this season, but only one is pitching tonight. That’s the Cardinals’ Todd Wellemeyer, who has a 5.02 ERA to go along with his 5-4 record. He has, though, allowed two runs in 11 1/3 innings over his last two starts, both of which resulted in victories. The Reds will go to Edinson Volquez, who is fresh off the DL after missing two starts with back spasms. Volquez, who gave up seven runs in a start against the Cardinals on May 10, is 4-2 with a 4.25 ERA this season.