SoCal MLB Preview

NY Mets (16-15) at LA Dodgers (19-14), 12:10 pm
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Brad Penny takes the mound as the Los Angeles Dodgers shoot for a three-game sweep of the New York Mets on Wednesday. Blake DeWitt hit his second career home run - an inside-the-parker - which helped the Dodgers to a 5-4 victory on Tuesday. Los Angeles will go for the sweep behind Penny (5-2, 3.19 ERA), who notched his career-best fourth straight win by limiting the Colorado Rockies to three runs and three hits in five innings of an 11-6 victory on Friday. Penny improved to 14-2 in 23 career starts against Colorado, but has been far less successful vs. New York. The Mets have been Penny's personal nemesis over the years, as he is just 5-11 with a 5.66 ERA in 19 starts against them. The good news is Penny should get plenty of support from a Dodgers' lineup that has begun to hit on all cylinders. Los Angeles has won 10 of 11 and is averaging 7.4 runs during that span. John Maine (3-2, 3.48 ERA) gets the ball for New York, looking for his third straight win. After a rough start, Maine allowed two runs or less in each of his last five outings. The righthander labored through six innings, but yielded just two runs and six hits in a 7-2 victory over Arizona on Friday.


LA Angels (22-13) at Kansas City (14-18), 5:10 pm
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - Garrett Anderson tries to keep his hot hitting going and lead the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to their fifth consecutive victory Wednesday when they face the Kansas City Royals in the finale of a three-game series. Anderson homered for the second straight night and drove in five runs as the Angels defeated the Royals, 5-3, on Tuesday. He tied the contest with a three-run shot in the fourth inning and added a pair of RBI singles in the fifth and seventh. The 35-year-old outfielder, who is currently on a four-game hitting streak, has struggled for most of the season. He is batting just .237 with four home runs and 18 RBI. Anaheim has not lost since the last time Jered Weaver (2-4, 4.36 ERA) took the mound. The righthander pitched seven innings, giving up four runs and six hits with two walks and six strikeouts in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Weaver is just 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA and 19 strikeouts over his previous five starts. He will be opposed by Zach Greinke (3-1, 1.47), who is yet to surrender more than two earned runs in an outing this campaign but is coming off his first loss of the season. The righthander yielded two runs and four hits with no walks and a season-high nine strikeouts over seven frames during Thursday's 2-1 setback to the Texas Rangers. Despite solid outings, Greinke has failed to record a win in his previous three starts.