News
Penny returns to start at Dodger Stadium
San Francisco (80-67) at Los Angeles (88-60), 1:10 p.m. PT
By Chris Haft / MLB.com
09/19/09 2:05 AM ET
LOS ANGELES -- Brad Penny has felt at home so far in a Giants uniform. Perhaps he'll feel doubly comfortable Saturday. With the Giants trailing in the National League Wild Card by 2 1/2 games, Penny will return to the Dodger Stadium mound, where he has consistently enjoyed success -- mostly while pitching for Los Angeles from 2004-08. Penny owns a 28-16 record and a 3.75 ERA in 67 Dodger Stadium appearances, including 66 starts. He settled in at Chavez Ravine almost immediately. In 2005, despite finishing 7-9 with a 3.90 ERA his first full season with Los Angeles, he went 5-2, 3.06 at home. Penny will receive an opportunity to showcase his Dodger Stadium skill to a large audience. FOX has selected the Giants-Dodgers game as one of its featured telecasts, with Chris Rose calling play-by-play and former Los Angeles first baseman Eric Karros providing analysis. Television viewers and fans at the park will have a chance to see Penny make San Francisco Giants history. Since 1963, which is as far back as the Elias Sports Bureau could research, Penny is only the second Giants pitcher to win his first three games with the club. After signing with the Giants on Aug. 31 following his release from the Boston Red Sox, he worked eight shutout innings in his Giants debut at Philadelphia on Sept. 2. He then yielded two runs in seven innings in each of his next two outings. Bill Swift set the standard Penny will try to match by winning his first four games as a Giant in 1992 after they obtained him from Seattle in an offseason trade. Penny could be tested in this encounter at Dodger Stadium, where he's likely to confront a hostile crowd despite winning 16 games for Los Angeles in 2006 and '07 and making the All-Star team both years. Pitching matchupSF: RHP Brad Penny (10-8, 5.04 ERA)
Penny experienced little trouble against Los Angeles last Sunday, yielding two runs and five hits in seven innings as the Giants triumphed, 7-2. He cruised through the first six innings, surrendering three hits while allowing two runners to reach scoring position. The Dodgers broke through against Penny in the seventh, his final inning, as former batterymate Russell Martin mashed a two-run homer. LAD: RHP Jon Garland (10-11, 4.19 ERA)
Instead of pitching on his normal schedule, which would have meant an outing against the same Giants team that knocked him around last Sunday, slumping starter Chad Billingsley was moved up in the rotation and the veteran Garland was inserted in his place. Garland is 1-0 with a 3.77 ERA in two career starts against the Giants. Tidbits
Eugenio Velez's first-inning home run Friday was the Giants' fifth leadoff homer of the season and his second. He also connected Sept. 3 at Philadelphia. ... Forget the home run race. How about doubles? Entering Friday, Pablo Sandoval (41), Randy Winn (32) and Aaron Rowand (30) had reached the 30-double plateau, with Bengie Molina and Juan Uribe at 24 apiece. The Giants haven't had four players hit 30 or more doubles since 1970, when Willie McCovey (39), Bobby Bonds (36), Dick Dietz (36) and Ken Henderson (35) accomplished the feat. ... Reminder: Wednesday's game at Arizona's Chase Field was selected as an ESPN telecast and will start at 7:10 p.m. PT instead of 6:40 p.m. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
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• Official game notes On television
• FOX On radio
• KNBR 680 Up next
• Sunday: Giants (Tim Lincecum, 14-5, 2.30) at Dodgers (Randy Wolf, 10-6, 3.24), 1:10 p.m. PT
• Monday: Giants (Barry Zito, 10-12, 3.94) at D-backs (Doug Davis, 7-13, 4.01), 6:40 p.m. PT
• Tuesday: Giants (Matt Cain, 13-6, 2.71) at D-backs (TBD), 6:40 p.m. PT
Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
