SoCal MLB Preview

Colorado (20-38) at LA Dodgers (28-29), 7:10 pm

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Brad Penny has been anything but solid lately - no matter the location - but he has a solid track record against the Colorado Rockies, who have been downright dreadful. Penny targets his 10th straight winning decision against the Rockies while handing Colorado its ninth straight loss when the teams continue their three-game set on Tuesday. Starting after a pair of wins over the Rockies in back-to-back starts on April 26 and May 2, Penny (5-6, 5.66 ERA) has seemingly fallen apart, going 0-4 with a 9.43 ERA in his next five starts. That stretch includes Thursday's 8-4 setback vs. the New York Mets when he surrendered six runs and eight hits over four innings. However, he has endured little trouble in his career vs. Colorado, against which he is 14-2 with a 3.06 ERA in 23 career starts. The task for Penny figures to be much easier than usual as the Rockies continue to play without outfielders Matt Holliday (hamstring) and Brad Hawpe (hamstring) and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (quadriceps) all on the 15-day disabled list. Their absences have played a prominent role in Colorado's longest skid since dropping 10 in a row from April 24-May 7, 2005. Even worse, the Rockies have lost 13 in a row on the road, the worst streak of its kind since the Seattle Mariners dropped 15 in a row from June 22-July 28, 2004. To end both streaks, the Rockies will once again turn to ace Jeff Francis (1-5, 6.12), who is off to the slowest start of his career. The lefthander allowed three runs and six hits over five innings in Colorado's 8-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

LA Angels (35-24) at Seattle (21-37), 7:10 pm

SEATTLE (Ticker) - Erik Bedard arrived in the Pacific Northwest during the offseason as arguably the American League's best lefthander - a title that might belong to Joe Saunders this season. Saunders eyes his AL-best ninth win on Tuesday when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim continue their three-game series with the Seattle Mariners. Tied with three other AL pitchers with eight wins, Saunders (8-2, 2.76 ERA) has emerged from possibly being left out of the rotation prior to the season to the AL's second-most difficult lefthanded starter to face, as he is allowing opponents to hit just .229 off him. Even more in his favor is that he has wins in both of his starts against Seattle already this season. However, in order to collect No. 3, he will need to shake off his last outing in which he surrendered a season-high five runs over five innings in a 6-2 loss to Detroit on Wednesday. Bedard (4-3, 4.08), who arrived in Seattle in February after one of the most-discussed trades of the offseason, has been one of the few bright spots for the AL's worst team. Even though he is allowing nearly a run more per game than he did in 2007, he is the only Seattle pitcher with a winning record to have started a game. The lefthander was sharp in his last turn on Wednesday, yielding two hits and striking out eight over seven innings in a 1-0 win over Boston.