One major reason for Los Angeles’ unpredictability has been the offensive struggles of Manny Ramirez. The slugger was hitting .259 with three homers and seven RBI since Aug. 12 before going deep in the second inning Monday.

Ramirez has had no problem taking advantage of the few pitches he’s seen from Billy Buckner, who will get the ball for Arizona. He’s 3-for-5 with two homers versus the righthander, who’s 0-5 with an 11.10 ERA in his last five starts overall.

Chad Billingsley hasn’t been nearly as ineffective as Buckner, but the Dodgers’ win leader has lost his last three starts.

The +170 underdog Diamondbacks are 6-10 against the Dodgers in 2009.

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San Francisco, an NL-best 38-19 at home, hasn’t lost three straight at AT&T Park since June 15-17.

Bruce Bochy will give the ball to Joe Martinez, who will make his first appearance in front of the home fans since he was struck near the right temple by a line drive on April 9.

The Dodgers counter with Randy Wolf, who is probably glad he doesn’t have to face Atlanta again.

Wolf allowed four runs and nine hits in each of his last two starts, which were both against the Braves.

Wolf is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four starts versus San Francisco since the start of last season.

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They can end that drought and become the first team in the majors to 60 wins today against the Cincinnati Reds, who haven’t won at Dodger Stadium since 2005.

The current three-game run has boosted their division lead to eight games over second-place Colorado.

The streak has a good chance to continue if Randy Wolf can provide another quality start, something the lefthander has given the Dodgers in each of his last four outings.

Wolf has often looked sharp against the Reds, going 8-2 with a 3.15 ERA in 15 career starts.

The -200 favored Dodgers have never faced Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey, who will get the ball today.

The Reds are 3-18 against the Dodgers overall since the start of 2006.

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Houston has come a long way since the end of May, when it lost its seventh in a row to fall to 18-28, 9 1/2 games behind first-place St. Louis in the Central.

The Astros’ 27-16 record since is the third best in the majors, but there’s been one constant in their play all season, which is their success versus the NL West.

Houston has taken six of seven series against the West, helping to make up for their 17-24 record versus the much weaker Central. They are 3-1 versus Los Angeles, making them the only NL club to have a winning record against the Dodgers.

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Manny Ramirez went 3 for 3 on Sunday and scored twice to continue his torrid pace since returning from a 50-game drug suspension, helping the Dodgers finish a 6-3 road trip for their best start in 32 years at 56-32.

Thursday, L.A. will hand the ball to Randy Wolf, who is 4-3 on the season. He had a strong performance in his last outing as the Dodgers beat the Mets 11-2.

The Astros will be sad that the Washington Nationals are no longer their opponent. Houston ended the first half of the season with a 5-0 win and now go from the worst team in baseball to the best.

Wandy Rodriguez will take the hill in hopes of starting the second half off with an upset win.

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Manny Ramirez returns after serving a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy tonight in the opener of a three-game road series against the San Diego Padres.

Los Angeles was 21-8 and held a 6 1/2-game lead in the NL West at the time of Manny's suspension. The Dodgers, though, didn't suffer without Ramirez, going 29-21 and increasing their division lead to 7 1/2 games.

Ramirez is batting .227 with a homer and four RBI this season against San Diego.

Chad Gaudin will start for the Padres and has only allowed five earned runs while striking out 28 over his last three starts.

Los Angeles' Hiroki Kuroda takes the mound after giving up four runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings of a 4-2 loss to Seattle on Sunday.

The Dodgers are listed as -145 favorites in this one.

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Los Angeles lost the last two games of a three-game set with the Chicago White Sox, dropping the finale 6-5 in 13 innings Thursday.

Milton will make his first start since facing Philadelphia on June 5, when he gave up three runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings of Los Angeles' 4-3 win.

Milton is 1-5 with a 9.41 ERA in nine starts against the Mariners, but this will be his first appearance against them since 2002.

The Mariners are also expected to activate catcher Kenji Johjima from the DL. Johjima, who has been out since May 26, may be behind the plate to catch Jason Vargas.

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The White Sox are 29th in the majors with a .219 team batting average at home and last overall with 117 runs scored at U.S. Cellular Field. Chicago is 16-18 there this season, dropping nine of 13 since last posting back-to-back wins over Pittsburgh at the end of May.

Thome will get his first look at Hiroki Kuroda, who hasn't won since coming off the disabled list on June 1 or in interleague play.

Kuroda is 0-3 with a 6.11 ERA in three starts against AL foes, and the Dodgers have scored only four runs for him in those games.

Chicago's John Danks will be Kuroda's foe tonight. Over his last four starts against NL clubs, Danks has given up two runs in 25 innings.

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