Monday night the Arizona Diamondbacks will begin a two-game road series against the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers have been quite surprising in the fact that they have the best record in major league baseball right not at 23-11. They hold a six-game lead over the San Francisco Giants and lead the D-backs by 8.5 games.
Centerfielder Matt Kemp is leading the way for LA. He is hitting .359 with 12 homers and 28 RBI. Not to be outdone is former Arizona State Sun Devil Andre Ethier, who has driven in 32 runs while batting .302.
Their starting pitching has been solid. Three of their five starters have ERAs in the twos, including a name that D-backs fans may recall -- Chris Capuano -- one of the pitchers sent to the Milwaukee Brewers years ago to acquire Richie Sexson.
Playing at Dodger Stadium will be a challenge for Arizona. LA is 15-3 on the year at home. The D-backs play better on the road than at home, but still are only 8-8.
Arizona enters the series having lost nine of their last 11 games and five of six during their recent homestand.
Here are the probable pitching matchups for the two games and their times:
Monday, 7:10 PM: Ian Kennedy (3-2, 3.91) vs. Clayton Kershaw (2-1, 2.56)
Tuesday, 7:10 PM: Wade Miley (3-1, 2.76) vs. Chad Billingsley (2-2, 3.32)