Florida (20-15) at LA Dodgers (21-17), 10:10 pm EDT
LOS ANGELES -- Dontrelle Willis will try to become the
National League's first eight-game winner Tuesday when the Florida
Marlins continue their three-game series with the Los Angeles
Dodgers.
Willis (7-0, 1.08 ERA) has been dominant this season, allowing
no more than three runs in any of his seven starts and holding
an opponent scoreless four times.
He continued his outstanding start Wednesday, yielding one run
and six hits in eight innings in a 2-1 victory over the Houston
Astros.
Willis is tied with Chicago White Sox righthander Jon Garland
for the most wins in the majors and is off to the second-best
start in franchise history. Livan Hernandez started 9-0 for the
Marlins in 1997.
To approach Hernandez's mark, Willis will have to improve on his
past performances against the Dodgers. The lefthander is 0-2
with a 15.43 ERA in two lifetime starts against Los Angeles.
The Dodgers will counter with righthander Derek Lowe (2-4,
2.94), who has lost three of his last four starts. He allowed
six runs for the second consecutive outing Thursday, although
only two were earned in a 10-3 setback to the St. Louis
Cardinals.
Los Angeles lost for the fifth time in six games Monday,
dropping a 6-2 decision in the series opener. Alex Gonzalez had
three hits and Miguel Cabrera and Juan Encarnacion each homered
for Florida, which recorded 16 hits and avoided its first
four-game losing streak of the season.
Cesar Izturis delivered a pair of hits for the Dodgers, who are
9-15 since a 12-2 start.