With a win Saturday night, one of the most storied franchises in baseball history can match a record that dates back to their days on the other side of the country.
The Dodgers will try to join the 1946 Brooklyn club as the only ones to open 9-0 at home as Los Angeles continues a four-game series with the struggling San Diego Padres.Los Angeles (16-8) kept its streak alive when Russell Martin drew a bases-loaded walk off Duaner Sanchez on a full count with two outs in the ninth for a 1-0 victory on Friday.
"It might not have been pretty, but I'll take it," Martin said. "At 3-2, the hitter has the advantage because the pitcher has to throw a strike. I just tried to battle on every pitch."
Despite recording a season-lows with a run and three hits, this year's team became the third in the franchise's 126-year history to win its first eight at home.
Now left-hander Randy Wolf (1-1, 4.31 ERA) will try to enter his name in the record books for Los Angeles.
Wolf has given up at least three runs in each of his last three starts, and allowed four or more in six of 10 career meetings with the Padres including a 4-2 loss on April 7. He is 5-4 with a 6.02 ERA all-time against San Diego.
The Dodgers will face Wolf's counterpart from that defeat in Chris Young (2-1, 5.74), who's coming off his worst career performance.
In the Padres' 12-7 loss on Monday in Colorado, the right-hander was tagged for eight runs, seven hits and five walks in only three innings. He also allowed five stolen bases in his brief outing, and has given up 14 in five starts - six more than any other pitcher.
"It's obviously a goal to keep fast guys off base," he told the team's official Web site. "But it doesn't change the way I'm pitching."
He had a much different experience in his season debut, giving up two runs over six innings for just his second victory in 12 lifetime starts versus Los Angeles.
Young is 2-4 with a 3.93 ERA in his career against Los Angeles, but went 0-2 and allowed 10 earned runs in two starts last season at Dodger Stadium.
Despite Jake Peavy's eight scoreless innings, San Diego (11-12) lost for the ninth time in 11 games on Friday. The Padres were blanked for the second time this season after scoring 21 runs in their four previous contests..
San Diego has dropped five straight with Peavy or Young on the mound.
"We can't buy a win right now," second baseman David Eckstein said. "When you've got a guy like Peavy going out there and pitching like that for you, you've got to find a way to score some runs - because we're a club that can't waste that type of performance."
The Padres will try to avoid losing for the eighth time in nine games in Los Angeles.
