Chad Billingsley

When the Dodgers acquired Ted Lilly from the Cubs on Saturday, they deepened their staff but didn't upgrade the top of their rotation. The lefthander, 34, has some playoff experience, the kind he'd prefer to forget. The addition of Lilly does little to ease the burden on Clayton Kershaw, above, as the No. 1. Kershaw is talented and appears to have a great future, but the lefthander is only 22. He does have postseason experience. Hiroki Kuroda has yet to develop the consistency the Dodgers need from him, but Chad Billingsley has been getting more effective as the season wears on.

  Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. RHP Vicente Padilla (5-3, 3.09 ERA ) vs. Phillies RHP Kyle Kendric k (7-4, 4.37).   Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. RHP Chad Billingsley (9-6, 3.82) vs. Phillies RHP Roy Oswal t (0-1, 4.38).   Thursday at 7:05 p.m. LHP Clayton Kershaw (10-7, 3.19) vs. Phillies RHP Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.65).

The three-game series starts Tuesday at AT&T Park. The Giants won three out of four in San Diego to gain a share of first place in the NL West for the first time since May 6. The Giants have won nine of their last 12 and are going against a withering Dodgers team that has lost 11 of its last 15 while the Padres go against the white-hot Rockies in Colorado. The Dodgers will throw three quality starters - Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly - against their division rivals, and even when they're going bad, they can be motivated playing the Giants.

Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Best-of-seven TV: All games on Fox. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM), ESPN (950-AM) WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish GAME 1: LAST NIGHT: Phillies 3, Dodgers 2 WP: Cole Hamels (2-0) LP: Derek Lowe (1-1) GAME 2: TODAY, 4:35 P.M. Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 16-10 at Phillies (Brett Myers, 10-13) GAME 3: SUNDAY, 8:22 P.M. Phillies (Jamie Moyer, 0-1) at Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda, 1-0) GAME 4: MONDAY, 8:22 P.M. Phillies (Joe Blanton, 1-0)

Happy Mother's Day, guys In honor of Mother's Day, here are some players whose names conjure memories of a loved mom: Chad Billingsley, Dodgers righthander. Many years ago, Barbara Billingsley played the impeccably dressed June Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver. According to a Harris Poll survey that was done last month, she is still America's most favorite TV mom. Solid and dependable are words that described her. Sort of like the Dodgers' blossoming starting pitcher. No word on whether he does house chores in a dress and pearls.

While the Chicago Cubs did little in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field to shake their World Series curse, the Los Angeles Dodgers think they deserve some credit for capturing the first two games of their National League Division Series. "It feels good," Dodgers catcher Russell Martin said. "It feels real good. We took two games at their place. Our pitching did a great job and our offense was there. " The Dodgers pounded out 12 hits and have outscored the Cubs, 17-5, through two games.

That was a rally towel Tommy Lasorda was swirling above his head in the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium. It might as well have been a white flag. The Dodgers were that bad. Now an anxious off-season awaits as they try to sign free-agent Manny Ramirez, who came out of the dugout long after the game and waved to cheering fans. They just hope it wasn't goodbye. Game 5 of the National League Championship Series fell apart quickly for the Dodgers. Starting pitcher Chad Billingsley gave up a leadoff home run to the Phillies' Jimmy Rollins to start the game and didn't make it out of the third inning.

After years of bruises, how wary are Philadelphians about getting optimistic? One measure: Yesterday, a guy with his head painted red and white was cautioning against irrational exuberance. "It's a Philadelphia team, and you know Philadelphia teams," Ward Thomas said moments after letting his son take a hair-dye spray can to his head. "We were here last week for the Eagles and the Redskins, and you saw how that turned out. If something can go wrong, it always goes wrong with a Philadelphia team.

It is nothing more than hypothetical, but what would have happened Monday had closer Brad Lidge thrown a ton of pitches in the eighth inning and been unable to pitch the ninth in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium? Or if the Dodgers tied the score and sent the game into extra innings? Who would have closed then? "You guys didn't look in the bullpen?" Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said before a workout yesterday. "We sent [Brett] Myers down there to throw.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are off to a sizzling start, and what do they do? They sign our old friend Bobby Abreu. Now, most Philadelphians would call that a bad idea, and then cheer that it was the Dodgers and not the Phillies who signed a retread who's lousy in the outfield and a locker room cancer to boot. But not the folks in Los Angeles. Consider manager Don Mattingly, a guy who should know better. He was all enthusiastic about the signing. You can even say gung-ho. "Bobby's a guy, obviously, who's been a great hitter his whole career, and kind of makes us, we feel like, incrementally a little bit better," said Donnie Baseball, who was on the Yankees' coaching staff when Abreu played in New York.

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was looking ahead to the postseason when he stuck with Arodys Vizcaino after the Dodgers loaded the bases with three straight singles in the seventh. Gonzalez said he may need to use the rookie in a similarly difficult situation in the playoffs. He hopes Vizcaino learns from the experience, even though the results were ugly for Atlanta. James Loney's three-run double was the key hit in a five-run seventh inning for Los Angeles and the streaking Dodgers rallied after trailing by five runs to beat Atlanta, 8-6, at Turner Field.

At Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles   Monday at 10:10 p.m. RHP Roy Halladay (14-4, 2.25 ERA) vs. RHP Hiroki Kuroda (7-13, 2.96).   Tuesday at 10:10 p.m. LHP Cliff Lee (11-7, 2.96) vs. LHP Ted Lilly (7-11, 4.86).   Wednesday at 3:10 p.m. RHP Vance Worley (8-1, 2.35) vs. RHP Chad Billingsley (10-9, 4.17).

Matt Kemp had four hits, including his NL-leading 22nd home run, and the Los Angeles Dodgers had a little fun after a tough day by routing the skidding Minnesota Twins, 15-0, last night in Minneapolis. Chad Billingsley cruised through six innings, combining with three relievers on Los Angeles' seventh shutout of the season. Casey Blake had a home run among his three hits for the Dodgers, who filed for bankruptcy protection earlier in the day. Billingsley (7-6) allowed four hits and struck out four to win his second straight interleague start, backed by an offense that set season highs for runs and hits (25)

LOS ANGELES - Chad Billingsley cooled off one of baseball's hottest offenses through eight innings before Matt Kemp got to Ryan Franklin again. This time, his two-run, walk-off homer salvaged a victory for the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers. Kemp crushed his game-winner in the bottom of the ninth for a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday that ended the Dodgers' five-game skid. "It's one way to turn the page," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "We talked about getting that rock rolling in a different direction.

The three-game series starts Tuesday at AT&T Park. The Giants won three out of four in San Diego to gain a share of first place in the NL West for the first time since May 6. The Giants have won nine of their last 12 and are going against a withering Dodgers team that has lost 11 of its last 15 while the Padres go against the white-hot Rockies in Colorado. The Dodgers will throw three quality starters - Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly - against their division rivals, and even when they're going bad, they can be motivated playing the Giants.

When the Dodgers acquired Ted Lilly from the Cubs on Saturday, they deepened their staff but didn't upgrade the top of their rotation. The lefthander, 34, has some playoff experience, the kind he'd prefer to forget. The addition of Lilly does little to ease the burden on Clayton Kershaw, above, as the No. 1. Kershaw is talented and appears to have a great future, but the lefthander is only 22. He does have postseason experience. Hiroki Kuroda has yet to develop the consistency the Dodgers need from him, but Chad Billingsley has been getting more effective as the season wears on.

Charlie Hustle gets knocked down a peg The bat that Pete Rose used to get his last record-setting hit (a single off San Francisco's Greg Minton on Aug. 14, 1986, for hit No. 4,256) has been auctioned for $158,776 - much less than had been expected for the 32 ounces of baseball history. Lelands.com said it received only seven bids for the 34-inch black Mizuno bat during an online auction this month. Again, this was less interest than expected. Mike Heffner, Lelands.com president, said he thinks the tough economy and Rose's controversies held down the price.