Father’s Day at Dodger Stadium

Chris Capuano (8-2) vs. Jose Quintana (2-1, 1.98)

Dodgers Lineup: vs. White Sox

Gordon 6

Herrera 7

Rivera 3

Ethier 9

Hairston 4

Uribe 5

Gwynn 8

Treanor 2

Capuano 1

First off, I’d like to wish all the dads out there a Happy Father’s Day! If you’re not at Dodger Stadium in person this afternoon, I hope you are relaxing and taking in the game at home.

The Dodgers will try to take the rubber game this afternoon against the White Sox to win the three-game series. Last night the Dodgers’ rally comeback inning wasn’t enough to stave off the run-producers in the Chicago lineup. Chad Billingsley started off good in the first inning, but he was struggling once again when he took the mound in the second inning. Philip Humber wasn’t overpowering either, but the White Sox were able to squelch the Dodgers’ offense in the latter part of the game. Jerry Hairston‘s costly error was also a deciding factor in the loss. I’m still not sure why Donnie doesn’t play Hairston at third, since earlier in the season we saw him make some dazzling plays from the hot corner. The weak middle defense of late really shows how good of a defensive second baseman Mark Ellis is.

Last Monday against the Angels, Chris Capuano pitched 5 innings and allowed 2 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks in the no-decision. He admitted that his mechanics were way off.

"“The first three innings, I just felt as bad as I ever have mechanically,” said Capuano afterward. “The last two games and the first three innings tonight, I’ve been having a lot of problems with command walking guys.”"

Capuano has never faced the White Sox in his career. Yet he’ll have to fend off the usual trouble-making big guy-Adam Dunn. Dunn is hitting .400 against Cappy with one homerun in 10 at bats.

The left-handed rookie, Jose Quintana, has been filling in for the injured John Danks with much success. The greenie has made his case to stay on board with the Chicago rotation in his four starts. Last time out against St. Louis, Quintana picked up his second win after pitching 5 1/3 innings. He allowed just one run on 10 hits. None of the Dodgers have ever seen him, but we know how the Dodgers usually fare against lefty rookies….

The first-place White Sox have now won 12-5 against the Dodgers overall in Interleague Play. They have won 7-2 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago and 5-3 at Dodger Stadium.

In injury news: Javy Guerra and Blake Hawksworth are both close to playing in rehab games. Guerra will be traveling with the team to San Francisco after Interleague Play is finished. Hawksworth may be ready to play in some rehab games in the coming week after being out the entire season after undergoing two surgical procedures on his elbow. The second surgery was due to complications from the first procedure. Once Guerra and Hawksworth are healthy, it is most likely Shawn Tolleson who will be optioned back to the minors, but it’s unclear if the Dodgers will send down or cut any of the other relievers for Hawk. Todd Coffey has been surprisingly more affective of late, and Jamey Wright has done his job this year. Ronald Belisario has pitched very well since he returned (other than that eighth inning homerun he allowed to Alex Rios Friday night), and Josh Lindblom and Kenley Jansen are pretty much untouchable. Scott Elbert is of course the only lefty, and he has been showing some nasty stuff of late.

The 41-25 Dodgers retain their 4 game lead over the Giants in the NL West. Tomorrow is a breather day before they travel up north to take on the Oakland Athletics for a three-game series.

Tune into Prime Ticket at 1:10 pm for the first pitch. Happy Father’s Day!