"My junior year in high school, we made the regionals and I started the semifinals and pitched seven innings, allowed one hit in a night game with about 100 pitches," said Billingsley, who will oppose lefty Barry Zito and the Giants at AT&T Park. "The next day I started in right field, but our pitcher got into a jam in the first inning. They brought me in with the bases loaded, I got out of the jam and then went back to the outfield.
"Two innings later, they brought me back in to pitch and I finished up the last four innings.
"After that, I was tired."
Billingsley also said he once threw 180 pitches in a high school game. It's safe to assume Saturday's outing -- his 120th big league start -- won't last that long, though the 26-year-old doesn't anticipate physical limitations.
"My arm feels good," Billingsley said. "If I needed an extra day, I wouldn't have offered to pitch. If my body and my arm weren't able to do it, I wouldn't do it."
Billingsley is doing it because of the five-game suspension being served by teammate Clayton Kershaw, who hit Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand with a pitch on July 20.
San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy expects a return to normalcy this weekend.
"Winning ballgames is what's important, not the other stuff," said Bochy, whose second-place Giants lead the Dodgers by 4 1/2 games in the National League West standings. "That's the way both teams are going to be playing. You're at that stage now at the end of July when, sure, it's the dog days, but it also becomes more of a sprint. Every game is so important."
Dodgers: Ruling the West
Los Angeles owns a Major League-best 25-11 record against divisional opponents. ... Reliever Hong-Chih Kuo has reeled off 15 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 0.76.
Giants: Wall honors for Aurilia, Estes
The Giants will induct Rich Aurilia and Shawn Estes into the club's Wall of Fame in a pregame ceremony Saturday. The Wall recognizes retired players for their achievements and longevity. ... San Francisco is 41-11 in games when it scores first. ... Catcher Buster Posey's 42 July hits mark a single-month franchise rookie record, shared with Jim Ray Hart.
Worth noting
Los Angeles has neither lost a season series nor finished behind San Francisco in the NL West since 2005. ... Billingsley is 5-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 17 lifetime appearances against the Giants. ... Zito has a 2.18 ERA across three starts opposite the Dodgers this season.
Sat, 7/31 4:10 PM ET
| HITTER | AVG | AB | HR | RBI |
|---|
| HITTER | AVG | AB | HR | RBI |
|---|
Giants down Dodgers thanks to Burrell's homer
After Chad Billingsley and Barry Zito locked horns in a pitchers' duel, Pat Burrell spared the Giants lefty from a tough-luck loss by cracking a dramatic, two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning.
Giants Beat
Photos
| LA Dodgers | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Podsednik, LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .307 |
| Furcal, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .320 |
| Kemp, CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .262 |
| Blake, 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .246 |
| Loney, 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .289 |
| Martin, C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .245 |
| Anderson, G, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .184 |
| Carroll, 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .273 |
| Billingsley, P | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .158 |
| Kuo, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Broxton, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 29 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 11 | .259 |
| San Francisco | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torres, CF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .286 |
| Sanchez, F, 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .265 |
| Huff, RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .310 |
| Posey, 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .355 |
| Burrell, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .243 |
| Sandoval, P, 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .264 |
| Renteria, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .283 |
| Whiteside, C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .250 |
| Zito, P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 |
| a-Schierholtz, PH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .246 |
| b-Rowand, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| Bautista, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Mota, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 27 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 12 | .262 |
HR: Blake (11, 7th inning off Zito, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Furcal; Blake 4; Billingsley.
RBI: Blake (41).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Loney; Kemp.
Team RISP: 0-for-4.
Team LOB: 5.
BASERUNNING
SB: Furcal (18, 2nd base off Zito/Whiteside).
CS: Furcal (4, 3rd base by Zito/Whiteside).
FIELDING
E: Furcal (14, throw).
Outfield assists: Anderson, G (Sandoval, P at 2nd base).
DP: (Loney-Furcal-Billingsley).
2B: Torres (33, Billingsley), Posey (10, Billingsley).
HR: Burrell (8, 8th inning off Broxton, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Torres 2; Posey 2; Burrell 4; Sandoval, P; Rowand.
RBI: Burrell 2 (29).
2-out RBI: Burrell 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Posey; Sanchez, F; Renteria; Torres 2.
SAC: Zito.
GIDP: Huff.
Team RISP: 0-for-7.
Team LOB: 7.
| LA Dodgers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billingsley | 6.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3.78 |
| Kuo(H, 15) | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.99 |
| Broxton(BS, 4)(L, 3-3) | 0.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.12 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4.01 |
IBB: Sandoval, P (by Billingsley).
HBP: Sanchez, F (by Billingsley), Whiteside (by Billingsley), Posey (by Kuo).
Pitches-strikes: Billingsley 95-58, Kuo 13-9, Broxton 8-4, Zito 107-65, Bautista 17-6, Mota 25-17.
Groundouts-flyouts: Billingsley 8-2, Kuo 1-1, Broxton 0-0, Zito 2-6, Bautista 0-0, Mota 1-0.
Batters faced: Billingsley 26, Kuo 5, Broxton 2, Zito 25, Bautista 3, Mota 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Kuo 1-0, Broxton 1-1, Mota 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Rob Drake. 1B: Joe West. 2B: Angel Hernandez. 3B: Dan Bellino.
Weather: 62 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 10 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:40.
Att: 42,882.
Compiled by MLB Advanced Media
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