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		Giants to head to SoCal By Jeremy Harness August 10, 2006
	San Francisco Giants batter Eliezer Alfonzo grimaces after swinging and missing at a pitch thrown by Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Miguel Batista during the fourth inning of their baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006 in Phoenix. Alfonzo would later grond into a double play. (AP Photo/Tom Hood)
	Right now, things couldn’t be worse for the Giants. They’re going through a 3-13 stretch, the latest loss coming on Wednesday night to the Arizona Diamondbacks, during which they hit into five double plays and, therefore, blew opportunities to cash in on potential big innings. The Dodgers, on the other hand, are going in the opposite direction. They have, at press time, won 11 of their last 12 games and share first place with the Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres. They are the best hitting team in the National League, and with Nomar Garciaparra just activated from the disabled list on Wednesday, that makes them even more dangerous. And the Dodgers have been doing the little things to put big numbers up. In addition to have the highest team batting average in the NL, they have scored 577 runs this seasons, which is fourth in the senior circuit, despite hitting the second-fewest home runs in the entire major leagues. To bolster their rotation, Los Angeles acquired sure Hall of Famer Greg Maddux from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for shortstop Cesar Izturis. To say the least, he made an immediate impact, going six hitless innings in his first start as a Dodger against the Cincinnati Reds. Last Tuesday, in his second start, he went seven innings and gave up only two runs on seven hits to Colorado, even though he got a no-decision. Maddux (10-11) is scheduled to go up against Jason Schmidt (9-7), who is coming off a victory against Arizona on Tuesday night, during which he gave up only three runs over 6 2/3 innings. Going head-to-head in Friday’s series opener at Dodger Stadium will be Noah Lowry (5-7) against the Dodgers’ Mark Hendrickson (5-12), who got his first win in a Dodger uniform in his previous start against Florida. On Saturday, the Giants have Matt Cain (8-8), who is coming off a brilliant outing against Colorado, during which he struck out 12 hitters over seven innings. The bad news for Cain is he has to face Brad Penny (12-5), who started this year’s All-Star Game for the National League and himself is coming off a nice start against Colorado, during which he gave up only a pair of runs.