Dodgers Play Two, In Interleague Double-Header At The Bronx

Dodgers Lineup vs. Yankees-Game 1

Hyun-jin Ryu-6-2 vs. Hiroki Kuroda-6-5-Game 1

Chris Capuano-1-4 vs. Phil Hughes-3-5-Game 2

I had a nice pregame all written up yesterday, but of course some poorly timed east coast rain ruined that. Yesterday afternoon, the rain washed away the Dodgers/Yankees tilt last night, forcing the two teams to play a rare day/night double-header today. The first game will start at 10:00 AM PT, and will feature Hyun-jin Ryu going up against old friend and former Dodger Hiroki Kuroda. The Yankees were going to have Kuroda start the second game, but swapped him with Phil Hughes who will start game two for the Yankees. The Dodgers will be using Chris Capuano to start the second game against Hughes. Capuano has been on the DL with a sore shoulder, but according to the club is ready to pitch, and will be activated to start the second game of the twin bill. In order to clear room for Cappy, the Dodgers will need to make a roster move. You can bet dollars to donuts, that should be Chris Withrow being send back down, since he is the only one with options remaining. Not that it should be. We will let you know as soon as the club announces its decision.

Ryu faces the Yankees for the first time-Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

While Ryu has never faced the Yankees, Kuroda has never faced the Dodgers. Kuroda was a Dodger, from 2008-2011, and pitching in the postseason for the Dodgers in 2008, and 2009. Kuroda was one of my favorite Dodgers, so seeing him tonight will be a bit tough to handle for myself. It’s kind of sad in a way. Kuroda has again proven why he was one of the most consistent starting pitchers the Dodgers had in recent years. Kuroda has proven that he can pitch well in any environment. Last season in his first year with the Yankees, he posted a 16-11 record, with a solid 3.32 ERA, and 167 whiffs in 219 innings. Kuroda is durable, and has been his usual stingy self in 2013. The 38 year old right hander is 6-5 with a 2.78 ERA. He has 60 whiffs and 19 walks in 87.1 innings of work. Kuroda has pitched in 25 games at Yankee stadium, and is 15-8 with a 2.56 ERA and three shutouts. He has whiffed 128 batters against only 35 walks in 170 innings. Kuroda should have never ever been allowed to leave the Dodgers.

Some of the Dodgers have faced him before from their days in the American League. The current Dodgers are batting .289 (26 for 90) with four home runs versus Kuroda. Skip Schumaker is 6 for 14 against Kuroda, so you can bet he’ll be starting, well he starts everyday anyways. Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .344 (11 for 32) with four doubles and three of the four home runs off of Kuroda. Juan Uribe has hit a home run against Kuroda as well.

We miss you Hiroki, please come back to us-Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

In case you were wondering, Capuano is 0-2 versus the Yankees, and 0-1 at Yankee Stadium. Or I should say the new Yankee Stadium. However Cappy has held the current group of Yankees to a .217 batting average against. Here’s how my pregame looked like yesterday before the rains ruined it.

Game one will start at 10 AM, and televised on KCAL 9. Game two will begin at 4:00 PM PT, and will be televised over at Prime Ticket. There’s about a three hour lag in between games. If you remember, this is the Dodger’s second interleague DH. The Dodgers had a rain out during the Baltimore series back in April, and Ryu pitched in that series as well. The Dodgers won’t stay long though, immediately after the second game, the Dodgers will board a plane and fly to San Diego, for a big four game series from Thursday-Sunday. Strange scheduling huh? Don’t forget Vin’s takeover at twitter which will now begin at 4PM because of the rainout. We’ll be back here with two separate game recaps, because two is better than one, right? Get your double dose of Dodger Baseball! Then mosey on over here to get your double dose of Lasorda’s Lair as well. Two recaps for the price of one! You can’t beat that! Go Blue.