If the Dodgers never see AT&T Park in San Francisco again it will be too soon. Fortunately, they do not have to return there again until the final week if the regular season September 28 – October 1. Unfortunately, that four-game series could very well determine their fate in the NL West this season. Thus far, the Dodgers are 0-6 against the Giants at AT&T Park this season and are coming off a three-game series against their most hated rivals in which they scored exactly zero runs – that’s zip, zilch, nada. As such, it most certainly wasn’t their hearts that they left in San Francisco, it was their… well… you know.

“Obviously, you don’t think you’re going to come here and not score a run in three days,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said after Sunday’s 4-0 loss. … “We just weren’t able to get the hits to be able to push some runs across.”

Ya think?

During the three-game series the Dodgers were 0 for 17 with runners in scoring position and stranded a total of (brace yourself) 29 runners on base.

Madison Bumgarner absolutely crushed Clayton Kershaw’s first-pitch / 91-MPH fastball for a third-inning solo home run that traveled an estimated 415 feet. (Video capture courtesy of SportsNetLA)

The good news, and there isn’t much after this brutal series shutout, is that the Dodgers limp out of San Francisco still atop the division, albeit by a mere 1.5 games instead of the 4.5 games they arrived with. The better news is that they return home to Dodger Stadium where they are 17-5 on the season to begin a six-game homestand, three against he Padres and three against the Braves, both of whom have sub-.500 road records.

The Dodgers begin the homestand against a Padres team that has lost seven of their last 10 games but won their last two at Petco Park. Friday night’s contest will feature the Dodgers best pitcher, Zack Greinke, who is 5-1 on the season with the league’s third best ERA of 1.52 against Padres right-hander Andrew Cashner and his uncharacteristic 1-7 record but with an impressive 3.24 ERA. Saturday’s contest pits Dodgers right-hander Mike Bolsinger (2-0, 1.04 ERA) against Ian Kennedy (2-3, 6.75 ERA) and Sunday’s matinee series finale has Dodgers right-hander Carlos Frias (3-1, 2.55 ERA) going head-to-head with Padres ace James Shields (5-0, 3.74). Saturday night is Adrian Gonzalez Bobblehead night and figures to draw a large crowd against his former team.

The Dodgers will then face the Atlanta Braves for three games on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with Monday’s Memorial Day game slated for a 5:10 PM start time. The Braves have won six of their last 10 games – including their last two at Turner Field – but are 10-11 on the road this season. Monday is also Tommy Lasorda Garden Gnome giveaway night, which figures to be one of the more popular promotional giveaways this season, and Wednesday is Coaster giveaway night in which Dodgers fans are being encouraged to “respect the wood.”

Tommy Lasorda Garden Gnomes are already going for as much as $33 on eBay.
(Photo courtesy of LA Dodgers)

Tickets for the upcoming six-game homestand are available through the Dodgers website.