The last week for the Los Angeles Dodgers has been rather eventful, to say the least. While Cubs fans have experienced the drama of nail biting victories and close losses, fans of Los Angeles have had to deal with a rather different type of drama all together. Earlier in the week, commissioner Bud Selig officially took over financial operations for the club after invoking his powers to serve the best interests of baseball and ensure the viability of its various franchises. It's unclear what the future holds for the ownership and control of the Dodgers, but, in the meantime, the games must go on.
The Cubs and the Dodgers find themselves in roughly equal positions in their divisions, both at .500. After their off day, the Cubs are in second place, half a game behind the tied Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals, while the Dodgers are in third, one game behind defending champions San Francisco and four back from Colorado. The Cubs will send rookie Casey Coleman to the mound again today to open the series.
Coleman has had an uneven set of starts thus far. He's currently 1-0 across the two, having given up four runs in his first start against Milwaukee, but then holding Colorado to just one earned run on four hits in 5.2 innings pitched. He currently has a 4.22 ERA and 1.59 WHIP. He has no pitching experience against the Dodgers.
Opposing him will be Chad Billingsley. After four starts, Billingsley is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. Against the Cubs, he's 3-3 in six starts with a 3.79 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. Aramis Ramirez has hit him well, going 4-for-13 with a double and a triple. Marlon Byrd and Jeff Baker have also done well, though in more limited action. Byrd holds a .429 average against him across seven at-bats, and Baker is 2-for-3 with a double.
The cloudy and cool weather is expected to continue in Chicago today, with a high in the upper 40's and an 80% chance of rain. First pitch is at 1:20 P.M., CDT, and the game will be televised on WGN and PRIME.