Saito's on the cutting edge

If Lowe doesn't pitch, Torre said, the most likely candidate to pitch on Sunday would be Greg Maddux. Because Hong-Chih Kuo isn't available this round, Torre said he wanted to keep left-hander Clayton Kershaw in the bullpen.

Kent's role limited

Blake DeWitt will continue to be the Dodgers' starting second baseman, limiting Jeff Kent to pinch-hitting duties. "Jeff feels he can start right now," Torre said. "But right now, Blake is doing fine."

DeWitt said Kent has helped him make the transition from third base to second. DeWitt said Kent offered some advice to him in the regular season, when he saw him backhand a ball that was hit up the middle and try to throw the ball to first over the top.

"He told me, 'You have to sidearm the ball to get it over,' " DeWitt said. "Two days later, the same play came up."

Early trip

Hiroki Kuroda, who will start Game 3 at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, returned to Los Angeles a day earlier than his teammates.

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com