SoCal MLB Preview

LA Dodgers (14-13) at Florida (15-12), 9:10 am
MIAMI (Ticker) - Manager Joe Torre has spent the first month of the season tinkering with the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup in hopes of finding the fit he likes. Entering May, he may be ready to settle on the batting order that has clobbered the Florida Marlins during the past few days. The Los Angeles Dodgers seek their second straight sweep on Thursday when they close out their three-game set with the Marlins. After using 24 different lineups over the team's first 25 games, Torre has seemingly settled on one that includes young outfielders Andre Ethier in left field and Matt Kemp in center field - over Juan Pierre - on a regular basis while batting them in the No. 2 and 3 spots, respectively. That combination - along with leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal - has greatly contributed to the Dodgers scoring 20 runs over their past two games, including Wednesday's 13-1 rout of the Marlins. Los Angeles had 15 hits in the game, giving them 29 in the past two contests. Furcal tied a career high with five hits while Kemp continued his torrid hitting pace in the victory. During the Dodgers' season-high five-game winning streak, the 23-year-old is batting .455 (10-for-22) with 10 RBI and five runs. With its three-game weekend sweep of the Colorado Rockies plus wins in the first two games of this series, Los Angeles has already matched its longest win streak from last season. Rookie Hiroki Kuroda (1-2, 3.82 ERA) will look to be the latest Los Angeles pitcher to benefit from the increased run support when he takes the mound. He is coming off his worst outing as a major leaguer, allowing a season-high five runs and nine hits over six innings in Friday's 8-7, 13-inning win over Colorado. Fellow rookie Burke Badenhop (0-2, 8.36) will oppose Kuroda in search of his first victory. The righthander has struggled mightily since joining the rotation on April 13, surrendering 13 runs and 19 hits in just 13 innings of work. He wasn't any better in his last outing when he allowed six runs over five frames in a 7-4 defeat to Atlanta last Thursday.

Oakland (17-12) at LA Angels (18-11), 7:05 pm
ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) - Nick Adenhart makes his first career start on Thursday as the Los Angels Angels of Anaheim conclude a four-game series with the Oakland Athletics. Ervin Santana threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings and Casey Kotchman drove in three runs as the Angels rolled to a 6-1 victory on Wednesday. Now Anaheim hands the ball to Adenhart, its top pitching prospect. Adenhart had his contract purchased on Wednesday from Class AAA Salt Lake, where the righthander went 4-0 with a 0.87 ERA in five starts. The 21-year-old is making a start in place of the ineffective Dustin Moseley, who had been filling in for John Lackey - on the disabled list with a strained right triceps since March 21. The move is a little risky since Adenhart will be pitching on just three days' rest after allowing one unearned run and three hits in eight innings on Sunday. Adenhart will be opposed by Justin Duchscherer (1-1, 2.70), who allowed two runs and six hits in five innings of a 5-3 loss to Seattle on Saturday. The A's have not scored an earned run since a 14-2 victory in the series opener on Monday.