• The series: Cincinnati Reds (4-5, fourth place NL Central) at Los Angeles Dodgers (4-3, second place NL West, entering Thursday).

        • Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles.

        • When: Today, 4:10 p.m.; Saturday, 8:10 p.m.; Sunday, 4:10 p.m.

        • Radio: WLW-AM (700).

        • TV: Fox Sports Net, Saturday and Sunday.

        • The bats: Kevin Elster, who didn't play any baseball last year and made the team as a non-roster invitee out of spring training, has been Los Angeles' most sensational addition, christening San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park with three home runs Tuesday. As usual, the Dodgers have plenty of right-handed pop with Gary Sheffield, Adrian Beltre and Eric Karros. Outfielder Shawn Green, acquired in November for Raul Mondesi, was hitting .241 through Tuesday.

        • The arms: Today — Rob Bell (0-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. Orel Hershiser (0-0, 7.20)

        Saturday — Denny Neagle (0-0, 5.40) vs. TBA

        Sunday — Steve Parris (0-2, 10.00) vs. Chan Ho Park (2-0, 4.50).

        Hershiser, 41 years young, will be pitching his first home game for the Dodgers since 1994. He has posted ERAs of 4.24 or higher in each of the last four years yet owns a 53-37 record in that span. The Reds won't have to face Dodgers ace Kevin Brown, who's on the disabled list with a fractured pinky on his right (pitching) hand.

        • The rest: Dodger Stadium has undergone a $50 million renovation, though how can you improve on perfection? The only change that affects players is the addition of field-level seating that cuts the distance from home plate to the seats from 72 feet to 57¹/₂ feet.

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