Pirates vs. Dodgers: Los Angeles in Position for First Sweep of the 2012 Season

The Pittsburgh Pirates (2-3) have managed to scored just two runs in the first two games of their National League series against the Los Angeles Dodgers (5-1), as the two teams close things out from Dodger Stadium on Thursday night.

Las Vegas oddsmakers have established the Dodgers as minus-135 home favorites, while the total has held steady at 7.

Pittsburgh was certainly feeling good about itself in capturing two of three home games against the Philadelphia Phillies to open the season, but has fallen flat in its first road trip. The Pirates have lost five straight games at Dodger Stadium and seven of the last eight played inside the historical venue.

Pirates starting pitcher Jeff Karstens (0-0, 1.50 ERA) is coming off a brilliant no-decision effort in his season debut, limiting the Phillies to just a single run and five hits over six frames in a 2-1 win.

The right-hander will be searching for his first victory against the Dodgers, coming in with an 0-2 record and 5.21 ERA, as he's allowed 34 hits in 19 innings in making five appearances (four starts). He will want to pitch carefully to first baseman Andre Ethier, who has four hits in 11 career at-bats against him, including a home run and four RBIs.

Bettors will likely fade the Pirates due to their 10-44 record in their last 54 games after dropping the first two games of a series.

Los Angeles has been led by its dynamic outfield duo of Ethier and Matt Kemp in the early going, as they came into Wednesday night's game tied for second in the big leagues with nine RBI apiece.  The Dodgers are still just 14th among MLB teams in hitting .240 on the season.

The Dodgers have had great success against NL Central foes, winning 10 of their last 11 such contests while capturing 27 of 34 games in this particular series.

Chris Capuano (0-0, 7.71 ERA) didn't figure into the decision in the Dodgers' 6-5 road win over the San Diego Padres on April 7, giving up four runs on two hits in 4.2 innings of work, as he struggled with his control of walking five batters.

The left-hander will need to be better than that in order to pick up his first victory, coming in with a dismal 4-7 record and 5.99 ERA in 17 games (15 starts) versus the Pirates. He did manage to go 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in two outings against them last year.

Los Angeles seems poised to pick up a sweep against a foe that is 54-111 on the road since the start of the 2010 season.

Weather forecasts suggest that mostly cloudy skies could give way to rain showers at the start of the game, with a 40 percent chance of precipitation starting at 10 p.m. ET.  A light southwesterly breeze is expected as well (out to center).