Friday MLB: L.A. Dodgers (50-29) at San Diego Padres (34-44)
Friday’s Dodgers-Padres game is all about one thing: the return of Manny Ramirez from his 50-game suspension.
With Ramirez set to play in his first major league game in 57 days, the often half-empty Petco Park will welcome a capacity crowd and as many as 150 credentialed members of the media. The 50-game suspension ended on the day the Dodgers became the first team to win 50 games this season.
The Dodgers finished with a record of 29-21 during Ramirez’s absence and are now 50-29 and remain comfortably ahead in the NL West – their seven-game lead in the division is a half-game more than it was when Ramirez was suspended.
But that L.A. offense has been scuffling, scoring five total runs in a just-completed series with the Rockies and just eight runs in the last five games. The Dodgers averaged 5.55 runs with Ramirez and 4.40 runs without him. Ramirez was batting.348 with a .429 on-base percentage, .641 slugging percentage and six homers at the time he was suspended.
“We’re looking forward to having Manny back,” manager Joe Torre said. “I think he’ll add something to our lineup. Hopefully, Manny will give us a more consistent offense. I think the presence he brings to the lineup is a security blanket for the rest of the guys.”
With Manny back, Juan Pierre heads to the bench. He was awesome right off the bat in place of Manny, hitting .369 in May but tailed off by more than 100 points in June.
The Dodgers are -142 favorites on WagerWeb.com for tonight’s game. They start Hiroki Kuroda (2-4, 3.77), who is 1-3 with a 5.13 ERA in his last four starts. Kuroda is 3-1 with a 4.78 ERA in five starts against the Padres.
San Diego is 2-8 in its last 10 games vs. a right-handed starter.
The Padres start Chad Gaudin (4-6, 4.97 ERA). At home this year, the righty is 2-2 record with a 3.38 ERA. Against the Dodgers in his career, Gaudin is 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA over 6 2/3 innings.
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