Dodgers Probable Pitchers

Kuroda pitched on both sides of a 2-hour, 24-minute rain delay Tuesday at Cincinnati. He pitched four scoreless innings before the delay and one after, although he had to escape a bases-loaded jam in the fifth. He picked up his first win since May 18 after three losses in four starts. Kuroda has struggled in Interleague Play so far in his career, going 1-5 with a 4.89 ERA in six starts. In one Interleague start this season, Kuroda allowed three runs in six innings against the Tigers and lost on May 23.

The righty continued his streak of solid pitching in his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, going 5 2/3 innings and yielding a team-high ninth win, while giving up only three runs on seven hits. It was his sixth win in his last seven starts, a streak which began on May 14. In that time he has posted an ERA of 1.84 and made a solid case for why he should be included in the talk for a possible All-Star appearance. Sunday's start against the Dodgers will be the first of his career.

Kershaw, even if by default, has become the de facto staff ace. He just out-pitched Rookie of the Year candidate Mike Leake in Cincinnati, taking the game into the eighth inning, raising his record to 7-3, and 6-1 in his most recent stretch. He's right there with the best pitchers in the league for strikeouts, and opponents are batting only .206 against him. He still leads the league in walks allowed but had a season-low one against the Reds. He's allowed the Angels only one run in 12 lifetime innings and threw seven scoreless innings in his only previous start in Anaheim.

Santana admitted his slider was not particularly strong a week ago when he let up season-highs in runs (six) and hits (10) to the Brewers, the second straight poor outing for Santana. He's 2-3 with a 3.94 ERA in five career Freeway Series starts, but he's also pitched much better on the road (3.04 ERA) than he has at Angel Stadium (5.12 ERA). Casey Blake, of all the Dodgers hitters, has given Santana the most trouble. Blake is 6-for-14 with two homers and three walks and three strikeouts against Santana.

Ely gets a chance to turn things around after three consecutive wobbly starts that saw his ERA jump from 2.54 to 4.15. Previously, he was one of the better rookies in the NL, stringing together six consecutive quality starts. With a fastball that peaks at 90 mph, Ely needs to be a strike thrower with all four pitches. Lately he's been falling behind, leading to six home runs allowed in those last three starts. Have opposing scouts and offenses caught up to Ely or has he just been slumping? The Angels will be a good test to answer the question. They scored four runs off Ely in five innings at Dodger Stadium earlier in the month.

Pineiro backed up a complete-game victory against the Dodgers with another sterling effort, going eight innings and holding the Brewers to a solo homer and three hits in a victory on Wednesday. Pineiro was economical and efficient, walking only one man while striking out five and throwing 109 pitches. His sinker was in command when he needed it, and his complementary stuff also was on target. Pineiro is 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA in four career starts against the Dodgers.

Haeger has a make-or-break start and a chance to snap the Dodgers' six-game losing streak. It will Haeger's sixth start of the season, the others coming as the fifth starter out of Spring Training, but first since he went on the disabled list May 9 with the first of what was officially two foot injuries. The knuckleballer said he's regained his confidence after throwing six scoreless innings in his most recent Minor League injury rehab start. He'll be pitching on three days' rest.

Kazmir continues to win -- four straight decisions, five in the past six -- with solid work, but he's still not getting quite as deep in games as he or manager Mike Scioscia would like. Kazmir lasted six innings in the Chicago heat on Friday, yielding two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three. Over his past four starts he has surrendered just six earned runs in 29 1/3 innings. He beat the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 12, going five innings, and is 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in two career starts against the Dodgers. Kazmir is 2-2, 5.91 in four starts this season at Angel Stadium.

Sabathia goes for his fifth consecutive victory as the Yankees open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. Sabathia was perhaps his sharpest on June 20, hurling eight innings of scoreless, four-hit ball against the Mets in the Bronx. Sabathia would have had a shot at a complete game if not for a rain delay that cut him short after 100 pitches. Sabathia faced the Dodgers once previously- - in 2008, when he hurled seven innings of one-run, five-hit ball in a win.

Padilla returned from nearly two months on the sidelines with an inflamed nerve in his pitching arm and he did it in Fenway Park, so the Yankees shouldn't faze him. All things considered, it didn't go too badly as he allowed four runs and made it into the sixth inning. Padilla was healthy enough to deliver 89 pitches, his fastball still hitting 95 mph in his last inning. He struck out four and walked one.