Chris Capuano Will Try to Put Cap on Series with Washington

Chris Capuano (2-0, 3.52) vs. Gio Gonzalez (2-0, 1.52)

Lineup:

Gwynn LF

Mark Ellis 2B

Kemp CF

Ethier RF

Uribe 3B

Loney 1B

Sellers SS

Treanor C

Cappy P

Wasn’t that a great game last night, Dodger fans? I thought the worst after Javy Guerra imploded in the ninth inning again, but the Nationals had a bullpen meltdown of their own at the hands of Rodriguez allowing the Dodgers to scratch and claw their way right back in the game. Chad Billingsley pitched great right alongside Stephen Strasburg, and Jamey Wright came out of the pen after the bewildered Guerra and pitched a scoreless top of the tenth. With Wright holding off the Nationals in the tenth, it would allow Matt Kemp to lead off in the bottom of the inning. That’s all we needed. One batter. One hit. I’m astonished that they even allowed Gorzelanny pitch to The Bison. The heroics of Matt Kemp overshadowed the ridiculously hyped up debut of the 19-year old phenom Bryce Harper who collected his first Major League hit and RBI during the game. All in all, a wonderful and exciting evening.

The Dodgers are now looking to sweep the three-game series with the Nats before they leave for the mile-high city of Denver to play the Colorado Rockies for the first time this season. Chris Capuano, who is looking for his third win, will take the mound this afternoon for the Dodgers. Last time out against the Braves, Cappy pitched 7 innings-his longest start as a Dodger yet. He did walk four batters and had to pitch his way out of multiple jams throughout the game. In his career against Washington, Cappy has a 2-3 record with a 4.35 ERA. The Nationals have hit him well in the past. Desmond has hit two homeruns against Chris, and Espinosa has one dinger with a .429 batting average against the southpaw.

Washington will counter with their own lefty, as Gio Gonzalez goes to work today. Gonzalez is also undefeated, and he is looking for his third win just like Cappy. He has not allowed a run in his last three outings-a streak of 20 innings. It doesn’t look like he has ever pitched against the Dodgers, but some of the Dodgers have had a few at bats against Gio in the past. Juan Rivera, who has been sitting out with a strained hamstring, has hit .364 with one homerun against him, and the other Juan is hitting .500 against him with a homerun as well.

Todd Coffey is scheduled to return from the DL today, but Don Mattingly has said that he might postpone that until tomorrow so that he could have Nathan Eovaldi-the long reliever-available out of the bullpen.

The game will be televised on Prime Ticket at 1:10 pm. We’ve had bad luck on Sundays this season, so let’s go out there and get the win today!

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