SportsHubLA

Y E S T E R D A Y…

Dodgers 6, Reds 5: Hey, Brad Penny. I know you’re in a rush to get home to your smoking hot Hollywood actress girlfriend, but it would be nice if the ace of the staff could actually pitch into the 7th inning once in awhile. Despite Penny’s poor performance, the Dodgers managed to comeback from 4-0 down to defeat the Reds. How did this happen, you ask? Well, the victory can be attributed to a 4 for 4 day from Matt Kemp, Blake DeWitt’s run scoring single in the bottom ninth, and most of all, the victory was due to the absence of one fat, overpaid, underachieving, .170 hitter.

T O D A Y…

Angels at Blue Jays (4:07 p.m. PST, KCOP): A pitcher’s duel appears to be on the horizon for the Angels as John Lackey makes his second start of the season against up and coming Blue Jay pitcher Dustin McGowan. Sunday’s 10-run outburst not withstanding, the Angels offense has been struggling since Chone Figgins went down with a hamstring injury. The struggles can be traced to Bad Vlad’s slow start coupled with the inconsistencies of guys like Gary Matthews Jr.

Reds at Dodgers (7:10 p.m. PST, PRIME HD): Chad Billingsley looks to continue his turnaround from early season struggles tonight against one of the few Reds pitchers who isn’t shutting down the opposition. Also, tonight will see if the addition by subtraction (more on that in the newsworthy section) will pay dividends for the Dodgers. It seems recently all the Dodgers need is Blake Dewitt (at least with men on base) according to the guys over at True Blue LA.

N E W S W O R T H Y…

• At least there’s SOME reason for why Andruw Jones has been so terrible this season. It appears he has torn cartilage in his right knee and will most likely require surgery that will keep his awfulness out of the Dodgers lineup for four-five weeks.
• Can’t get enough of Mayogate (see how stupid just adding the suffix -gate to any controversy sounds)? Well, the whistleblower, Louis Johnson, will be releasing a tell all book later this year.
• Forget Andrew Bynum this season. He isn’t coming back. Trevor Ariza, on the other hand, is almost back from the broken foot that has sidelined him for the past four months.

C O L U M N S…

• With the Western Conference Finals matchup set, all the big guns of the SoCal Media weigh in with their previews. Mark Whicker of the OC Register is all doom and gloom as he sees the Lakers falling to the big bad Spurs in 6 games. The Times Mike Bresnahan writes that everyone knows it will all about the Lakers ability to defend that will determine this series.
• SportsHubLA Column of the Day: Time to celebrate Halo Fans. This Thursday will mark the five-year anniversary of Arte Moreno’s purchase of the Angels from the uber corporation known as Disney. And as the OC Register’s Bill Plunkett tells us, under Moreno’s watch, the Angels have become one of the premiere franchises in Major League baseball. They boast three division titles in four years, a star-studded lineup also blessed with young talent, and a season ticket holder base second only to the Yankees. Not bad for a team that had more names and looks than division championships before his arrival.

Discuss: