Since Ramirez is suspended for 50 freaking games, there’s a very likely possibility that we won’t be seeing him in Philly.

And while that may have ultimately put LA’s 2009 MLB baseball season down the drain, they’re hoping that they can hold on without Manny just enough for a postseason run. As of this writing, the Los Angeles Dodgers hold the best record in baseball. Of course, with Manny Ramirez suspended for 50, there’s that possibility that some team will eventually knock them off the top.

I guess it is safe to assume that the Dodgers will be in survival mode until Manny Ramirez returns from his suspension. Can the Dodgers hang on? It begins on Tuesday, when they open up a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to start for the Los Angeles Dodgers on the mound. Kershaw got big outs with runners in scoring position to frustrate the last-place Washington Nationals the last time he started for LA, but it could be a different story against a potent Phillies lineup. Kershaw battled through a 31-pitch first inning, in which he loaded the bases but also struck out the side in his last outing. He was removed after allowing one run in five innings, requiring 99 pitches to get that far.

The Philadelphia Phillies are scheduled to have Chan HO Park for the Dodgers. Park finally put in the pitching performance the Phillies had been expecting when they named him the fifth starter in spring training. He allowed just one hit in six shutout innings Wednesday against the New York Mets at Citi Field, which temporarily quieted the talk that Park might be put back in the bullpen. Park certainly isn’t out of the woods yet. He needs to keep pitching well to keep his job.

Game 2 will be the battle of Dodgers’ Randy Wolf and Phillies’ Jamie Moyer. Wolf will play his former team, which he played from 1999-2006. Wolf has pitched against the Phillies only once for a no-decision and is 8-7 lifetime at Citizens Bank Park.

Jamie Moyer, on the other hand, suffered one of the worst starts of his career Thursday against the New York Mets at Citi Field, allowing seven runs in just 2 1/3 innings. Looking for answers, Moyer said he’s going to take a look at a shutout he threw against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2002 to hopefully change his luck. The Phillies hope it works. Moyer is 3-2 with a 7.26 ERA after six starts.

Final day of the three-game season series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies will feature Chad Billingsley who will get his rematch with the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, seven months after his playoff debacle. In his last start, he took his first loss by allowing the Giants three runs in seven innings, after five innings of a scoreless duel with Barry Zito. Billingsley wasn’t as sharp as he was in most of his five wins, as the Giants had baserunners in all but one inning with eight hits and four walks. The Giants scored on two sacrifice flies and an infield single.

Cole Hamels is scheduled to pitch for the Phillies in the series finale. The last time Cole Hamels faced the Dodgers, he picked up the win in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, earning MVP honors in the process. Hamels has had rotten luck this season, but pitched well and without incident Friday against the Braves, allowing just three hits and two runs in six innings to pick up his first win of the season. The Phillies are hoping it is the jump start Hamels needed to a better year.

Which team will win the 2009 MLB World Series? BetUS.com has the odds.

Philadelphia Phillies 14/1

Tampa Bay Rays 14/1

New York Yankees 9/2

Boston Red Sox 11/2

Want more odds? Visit BetUS.com for more baseball betting odds. Want to watch MLB baseball live? Get MLB baseball tickets online now.

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