LA Dodgers (31-38) at Cincinnati (33-38), 4:10 pm CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Chad Billingsley is hoping for better run support from his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates. Billingsley and the Dodgers look to snap a season high-tying five-game losing streak when they face the Cincinnati Reds. Los Angeles was swept in its three-game interleague series against the Detroit Tigers over the weekend - being outscored 22-11 in the process. Billingsley (4-7, 3.71 ERA) would have loved that kind of production from the Dodgers hitters as they have produced just a half-dozen runs in his last four outings - all losses for LA. They had just five hits as Billingsley gave up four runs in seven innings of a 4-1 defeat at San Diego last Wednesday. That loss was the first of five straight defeats by Los Angeles, which dropped 17 of its last 23 games. Cincinnati, which has lost two straight and nine of 14, send rookie Johnny Cueto (5-6, 5.42) to the mound. The 22-year-old righthander had a three-start winning streak snapped when he served up six runs and major league season-high eight walks while getting trounced, 10-0, to St. Louis last Wednesday. The Reds are 1-4 vs. the Dodgers this season, losing three in a row in the process.
NY Mets (34-35) at LA Angels (42-29), 7:05 pmANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- The New York Mets begin life without Willie Randolph on Tuesday when they continue a three-game interleague series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The embattled manager was fired early Tuesday morning following the Mets' 9-6 win over the Angels in the series opener. Bench coach Jerry Manuel, who previously managed the Chicago White Sox, will replace Randolph on an interim basis. Pitching coach Rick Peterson and first-base coach Tom Nieto have also both been dismissed, with the team promoting Ken Oberkfell, Dan Warthen and Luis Aguayo to fill those vacancies. Randolph's job security has been unstable since September, when the club suffered arguably the biggest regular-season collapse in baseball history, blowing a seven-game standings lead to the Philadelphia Phillies with 17 contests remaining. Widely considered a preseason favorite to compete for the National League pennant this season, the Mets are currently in fourth place in the NL East Division, 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Phillies (42-30). Manuel, who went 500-471 during his six seasons with the white Sox from 1998-2003, has the luxury of sending the staff ace to the mound Tuesday as he begins his second stint as a manager. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana (7-4, 2.85 ERA) returns to the hill after a solid effort in his previous start. The southpaw tossed seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He'll be opposed by Anaheim ace John Lackey (3-1, 1.83), who is seeking his third straight win after yielding just two runs and four hits with seven strikeouts over 7 1/3 frames during Wednesday's 4-2 triumph over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Angels have lost five of their last eight contests following a seven-game winning streak.
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