Lowe vs Wells
The last time they faced each other, Derek Lowe had one of his best starts of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers while David Wells had his worst for the San Diego Padres.
The two will square off again Sunday when the teams cap a three-game series at Petco Park.
Oddsmakers have made San Diego -110 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for todays game, the over/under has been set at 8.5 total runs (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 84% of bets for this game have been placed on Los Angeles +100 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Behind Lowe, Los Angeles beat Wells and San Diego 9-1 on April 13. Lowe (2-3, 4.40 ERA) will try to outpitch Wells (1-1, 6.00) again as he looks to avoid losing three straight starts for the first time since July 8-19.
Lowe lasted a season-high eight innings, allowing one run and seven hits while striking out six in the win over the Padres earlier this month.
"It was good to see a team that I was on finally get to (Wells)," Lowe said after that win. "Anytime you face a guy like that, you know that nine out of 10 times it’s going to be a low-scoring game. This kind of game probably doesn’t happen very often for him."
Lowe has since gone 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA with losses to Colorado and San Francisco.
Wells had his shortest start of the season when he last faced Lowe, allowing five runs and eight hits in 2 1-3 innings.
"I couldn’t get them out," Wells said. "It’s like they knew what was coming – whether there was a guy on second or nobody on. I don’t know. I know I don’t tip my pitches – but if I do, I wish one of those guys would come forth and tell me."
Both of the left-hander’s starts after that have come against Arizona. He gave up five runs and eight hits in five innings to outpitch five-time Cy Young award winner Randy Johnson in the Padres’ 10-5 win on Tuesday. Wells has not defeated a team other than the Diamondbacks since an Aug. 16 victory over Detroit, a span of 10 starts in which he’s gone 2-3 with a 4.31 ERA.
Wells is 1-3 with a 7.54 ERA in five starts against the Dodgers (14-10). Lowe, meanwhile, is 3-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 10 starts against the Padres, but 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA in five appearances in San Diego.
San Diego’s Jose Cruz Jr. is hitting .364 (12-for-33) with four homers off Lowe – the most he’s allowed to one player. Current Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent is hitting .467 (7-for-15) and left fielder Luis Gonzalez has a .444 (12-for-27) average with three homers against Wells.
After failing to convert consecutive save opportunities in his last two appearances for the first time since 2000, Padres closer Trevor Hoffman shut down Los Angeles in the ninth inning for a 3-2 win on Saturday night.
"Right back on the horse. He did a great job," Padres manager Bud Black said after Hoffman’s 487th career save, the most in MLB history. "With Trev, I think the odds are always in his favor."
The win snapped San Diego’s three-game losing streak and was Los Angeles’ fifth in six games overall.
Padres shortstop Khalil Greene’s two-run double keyed a three-run fourth inning. He has four RBIs in his last two games, and 13 in his last 10.
Kent had two hits and two RBIs for the Dodgers.
by: Michael Cash – thespread.com – Email Us
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