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The Dodgers may not have National League powerhouses quaking in their shoes, but the Arizona Diamondbacks should be a little worried after L.A. traded for Manny Ramirez on Thursday.
Los Angeles has won five of its last eight games and the team should be even better with Ramirez in the fold. The wacky slugger brings some serious pop to a team ranked second-last in NL home runs. With a career OPS of .999, "Manny being Manny" doesn't just mean crazy antics in the outfield or outside the diamond-it means some serious offense.
Hiroki Kuroda (5-8) will take the hill for Los Angeles. That's a trouble for Dodger backers, as Kuroda has been pumped by Arizona this season. The first-year MLBer has given up 17 hits and 10 runs in just 7.2 innings of action against the Diamondbacks this season.
Kuroda is also struggling right now. He's been shelled for 17 runs in his last 11.2 innings. Ramirez and his new teammates better be swinging heavy bats or this could be a recipe for disaster.
The Diamondbacks stood pat at the deadline despite the fact that Los Angeles is hot on their heels in the NL West division standings. They have been playing better baseball lately, winning eight of their last 10, but odds are they'll be in over their heads down the stretch.
Young right-hander Yusmeiro Petit (1-1) will get the call for Arizona. He's made 11 appearances this season, though just two were starts. He's played well in those games, recording a 2.55 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. He's never started against Arizona but has thrown five relief innings, surrendering five hits and a pair of earned runs. Petit's last start came July 22 in a 9-2 win over Chicago.
Gettting run support might be an issue for Petit. The Diamondbacks are one of the worst scoring teams in the National League and have hit just .252 on the season.
Arizona has won six of the past 10 meetings between these teams. It's risky backing the youngster Petit, especially with the Diamondbacks' lame offense involved, but Kuroda simply doesn't have an answer for these guys for whatever reason. Arizona picks up the "W".
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