Players Keep Eye on Padres

The Dodgers are eager to face whatever the season brings, figuring they’re finally capable of overcoming any challenge.

They’re coming off a 5-1 East Coast trip that included a three-game sweep of the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates, and they hold a two-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League West.

The Dodgers play host to the formidable Chicago Cubs in a three-game series beginning tonight at Dodger Stadium, and they’re hoping to open a bigger lead on the second-place Padres, whom they expect to battle all season in a two-team race.

“You can’t really count anybody out right now, it’s still too early to do that, but the way it’s shaping up, that’s what we’re hoping for,” first baseman Shawn Green said of a possible division showdown between the Southland rivals.

“The chances are a lot better of us getting in with the way the division is lined up,” Green said of the playoffs. “We have an opportunity, we just have to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Scouts covering the NL West said the Dodgers have the division’s best all-around team, but the Padres might have a better batting order. The Padres are considered to be below average in many areas on defense, scouts said. Although the Dodgers believe the Padres could be their main challengers for the division title, they’re not discounting San Francisco, Arizona and even Colorado.

“We all know it’s early,” catcher Paul Lo Duca said. “The Giants have Barry [Bonds], so they could get hot. I think the Diamondbacks are better than they’re playing, so you don’t want to start thinking ahead, at least not yet. I would like for it to be just us and the Padres. That would be nice, but you just can’t forget about those other teams.”

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Lo Duca noticed recently that the velocity on Hideo Nomo’s pitches increased when he was working out of the stretch.

There was an extreme difference in the right-hander’s fastball after he went to the stretch in the sixth inning of Saturday’s 4-3 victory at Pittsburgh. Nomo’s fastball, clocked in the mid-80s earlier in the game, reached the high 80s that inning, topping out at a season-high 91 mph.

Nomo has struggled to regain arm strength since undergoing off-season shoulder surgery in October, so the Dodgers are intrigued by his success from the stretch. Because Nomo’s velocity hasn’t been as high from the windup, should he throw exclusively from the stretch?

“His windup is so unique, it’s deceptive, so it’s something that he might not want to go away from,” Lo Duca said. “Hopefully, his arm can come back in the windup, and he told me he’s going to keep on trying from the windup for now. He knows what he’s doing wrong, so it’s really just a matter of getting it fixed in the windup. But he also told me that if it doesn’t start getting any better from the windup, if he can’t get it going, he’ll start going from the stretch.”

Nomo (3-3) downplayed the notion that velocity has contributed to his 6.00 earned-run average or the 12 home runs he has allowed in 39 innings. Nomo gave up 24 homers in 218 1/3 innings in 2003.

Manager Jim Tracy expressed optimism because of Nomo’s improvement from the stretch, but said a permanent change in delivery would not be a long-term solution.

“I don’t think that’s something that’s a part of Hideo’s repertoire,” Tracy said. “Knowing the kind of person that he is, and the competitor that he is, he’s more interested in taking his [bullpen sessions] and really trying to figure out what it is that has to be done in order to pick up those two or three miles an hour from the windup.”

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Kerry Wood, Matt Clement and Carlos Zambrano are scheduled to start for the Cubs against the Dodgers. The hard-throwing right-handers are among the NL’s top starters, and that’s not lost on the Dodgers.

“They’re three guys who have built a pretty good reputation for themselves, one of which [Wood] has established himself and the other two are taking care of business as far as that’s concerned,” Tracy said. “Can they have an off night? Sure they can, and you might score some runs.... But if they’re on their game, we might have to play three” tight games.

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ON DECK

Opponent -- Chicago Cubs, three games.

Site -- Dodger Stadium.

TV -- All games on Fox Sports Net 2.

Radio -- KFWB (980), KWKW (1330).

Tonight, 7 -- Jeff Weaver (1-4, 5.40 ERA) vs. Kerry Wood (3-2, 2.53).

Wednesday, 7 p.m. -- Kazuhisa Ishii (5-1, 3.76) vs. Matt Clement (5-1, 2.29).

Thursday, noon -- Hideo Nomo (3-3, 6.00) vs. Carlos Zambrano (3-1, 2.18).

Records -- Dodgers 20-10, Cubs 18-13.

Record vs. Cubs (2003) -- 4-2.

Tickets -- (323) 224-1448.