Tale O' Tape: NLCS Game 3 Pitching ... Moyer Should Fear Manny

Personal history and numbers don't always guide on-field performance, but they can give us a quick insight into who carries the advantage -- if ever so slight -- into a particular game. Tale O' Tape breaks down the starting pitchers to find an edge.

The Dodgers face an uphill battle, after falling behind 2-0 against the Phillies. They'll look for some home cooking as a remedy.

Hiroki Kuroda

Personally - Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda ended his first season in the U.S. 9-10 with a 3.73 ERA in a little over 180 innings. He doesn't strike many out (116), but he doesn't walk many (42) either. Kuroda's game is keeping the ball down and letting his defense field ground balls all game. He, like many of his teammates, was hot down the stretch, compiling a 2.57 ERA in his last 11 starts. He comes off a solid outing against the Cubs, though you could argue giving up 8 baserunners in 6 1/3 innings, the way the Cubs were swinging it, isn't really that great.

Home Splits - Interesting here, in that his ERA is virtually the same on the road and at home ... but he's 6-2 at home with two shutouts as opposed to 3-8 on the road with none. His K/BB at home is considerably better (62/14 home, 54/28 road). He also allows less than a hit per inning at home and more than one per inning on the road. It's really odd that his ERA isn't much different, but the W/L category ends up actually reflecting his better command at home.

History against Philly - Kuroda started twice against the Phils this year, and owned them. In two starts and 13 innings, he only allowed four hits, two walks, and two earned runs (for a sparkling 1.38 ERA). It's a small sample, but good news for the Dodgers for certain.

Vs. Specific Hitters - This, Phillies fans, is ugly. The team is 4-42 against the hurler, which shows up as a disgusting .095 batting average. Throw in the two free passes, and you're looking at a .152 on-base percentage. Chase Utley went 2-6 with a double and an RBI. Jayson Werth had a double in four at-bats, and Carlos Ruiz garnered one hit in two tries. That's it. No one else got a hit off Kuroda. Ryan Howard was especially bad, going 0-5 with 3 Ks.

Jamie Moyer

Personally - In this his 80th season in the bigs, Moyer compiled an impressive 16-7 record, with a 3.71 ERA. It was a major bounce-back from his 5.01 ERA last season. He pitches to contact, and relies upon his guile and know-how. He won't go really deep, as he averages only a shade under six innings per start. He survived only four innings in the first round of the playoffs, suffering what is still the lone Phillies loss in this postseason.

Road Splits - Moyer is a much better pitcher on the road. His ERA is 1.69 lower on the road than in Citizens Bank Park. The road record? 10-3. Not too shabby.

History against LA - He did not face the Dodgers this year. In his career he has started six games in Dodger Stadium, and the results have not been pretty thus far. His 6.83 ERA is among his worst marks in ballparks in which he's pitched at least five times.

Vs. Specific Hitters - Oh boy. Manny Ramirez has 60 career plate appearances against Moyer, and he hasn't been fooled. His OPS is 1.379, with 10 home runs, 20 RBI, and three doubles. That's 13 extra base hits to only five singles in 53 at-bats. This is a completely and utterly dominant relationship. You won't often see numbers like that in so many at-bats, so Manny is the focal point tonight. As usual, I guess.

None of the younger crowd has seen Moyer more than three times (Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, and James Loney). Rafeal Furcal is 2-7 with nothing exciting. Of note, I doubt Joe Torre messes with the lineup, but Casey Blake is only 2-17 career against Moyer while Nomar Garciaparra is hitting .417 (15-36) with six doubles, a triple, a home run, and five RBI. Of course, both of Blake's hits were home runs.

Edge

Dodgers, and it ain't close. Kuroda should get them back on track tonight, and we've got a series.

Also, it would behoove Moyer to stay away from Manny. You think he'd know that, but apparently he hasn't learned yet.