--2B Orlando Hudson already has six multiple-hit games this season, and he enters Tuesday night's series opener at Houston riding a six-game hitting streak during which he is batting .542 (13-for-24). The Dodgers signed Hudson primarily for his Gold Glove-caliber defense, which is a dramatic upgrade from the practically stationary Jeff Kent. But Hudson also has been one of the hottest bats in the lineup all season -- he's hitting .385 with a .467 on-base percentage.
--1B James Loney got off to a fast start this season, but he has slowed considerably since the team came off its season-opening trip. On the just completed six-game homestand, Loney went 4-for-21, albeit with five RBI. But after being out of the starting lineup for the first time Friday night so Mark Loretta could get some at-bats, Loney seemed to be taking better swings on Saturday and Sunday, when he went a combined 2-for-9, drew a walk and hit several balls hard that turned into outs. --LHP Eric Stults was pushed to the back of the rotation to keep the front three -- Randy Wolf, Chad Billingley and Clayton Kershaw -- on their regular pitching schedule after Monday's off day. That means Stults won't pitch again until Friday night at Colorado. Stults has made two starts since replacing RHP Hiroki Kuroda on the active roster, going 2-0 and allowing just three runs on nine hits over 10 1/3 innings.
--LHP Hong-Chih Kuo admitted Saturday that he has lost confidence. Kuo made two appearances on the six-game homestand, retiring just one of the six batters he has faced and having to be lifted without finishing the eighth inning each time. Dodgers manager Joe Torre said Kuo would remain in the role for now.
BY THE NUMBERS: .448 -- Collective on-base percentage for the Dodgers during their first homestand of the season, which saw them run the table against San Francisco and Colorado. The Dodgers scored 50 runs in the six games. As a team, they batted .367 (77-for-21) with 11 home runs.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I was just trying not to pull an oblique or fall down, so I guess I was 2-for-2 in that area. Manny (Ramirez) gave me one of his bats before I went up there, which was good because mine are all apparently in other cities. I used my own (batting) gloves, so send those to the Hall of Fame." -- LHP Will Ohman, who delivered an RBI single in his fifth career plate appearance Saturday against Colorado.
