Dem Bums – A Dodgers Blog

The Dodgers open a up a three game series with the Cardinals in St. Louis beginning Tuesday night. The Dodgers are one game back as of today, but a win tomorrow with an Arizona loss could set them for a dead tie in the division.

Chad Billingsley will get the start to go for his 12th win. Billingsley is 7-2 with a 2.21 ERA in his last nine starts, and has lowered his season ERA to 3.05. Billingsley also contributed to the team’s ERA of 1.80 over the last 10 games at home. He will face Chris Carpenter, who is making just his second start since undergoing Tommy John surgery. He made his first start last Wednesday since Opening Day 2007 and went four innings. Carpenter still needs to keep his pitch count low as he is still recovering, so the Dodgers could take advantage of that by getting to their bullpen early on, which could set the tone for the entire series.