Los Angeles (59-71) at Chicago (62-68)

Still contending in the mediocre NL West division, the Los Angeles Dodgers begin a big road trip when they start a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs.

Los Angeles is still in position to win a second straight NL West division title despite being 12 games below .500. The Dodgers trail first-place San Diego by 5 1/2 games.

This road trip features six games against teams with losing records— Chicago and Colorado. After this series, Los Angeles plays 25 of its final 29 games against NL West foes.

The Dodgers enter with a bit of momentum after winning two straight to salvage a split of a six-game homestand. Jeff Weaver outdueled Houston’s Roger Clemens in a 1-0 victory on Sunday.

Weaver struck out 10 and yielded seven hits in eight innings and Oscar Robles’ RBI single in the eighth inning produced the game’s only run.

“When you face a guy like Roger, you’ve got to be on top of your game,” Weaver said. “You don’t expect too much, so you take it as a 0-0 ballgame throughout the game and hope that somewhere along the line you pull out in front and win—like we did today.”

The Dodgers will be without shortstop Cesar Izturis on the trip. Izturis, who has not played since last Monday, was placed on the disabled list Sunday with a sprained lower back.

“I don’t want to be tough and get hurt worse and not help the team,” Izturis said. “Right now, I can’t help the team.”

Izturis is in a 1-for-21 slump over his last six games.

Chicago is in a different position than Los Angeles despite having a slightly better record at 62-68. The Cubs trail first-place St. Louis by 20 1/2 games in the NL Central and are also virtually out of contention for the wild card.

“It’s very weird for me,” Chicago manager Dusty Baker said. “It’s almost like an unreal situation. But that makes you appreciate it more when you get back.

“You know going to the playoffs doesn’t just happen and it’s not automatic. It humbles you and makes you more appreciative for the next one and the next one and the next one.”

National League batting leader Derrek Lee went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and four runs scored as Chicago salvaged the finale of a three-game series against Florida with a 14-3 win on Sunday. Lee, who is hitting .349, had been 0-for-8 in the first two games of the set before breaking through.

“I felt like I wasn’t being aggressive,” Lee said. “I was taking the wrong approach. I was being passive. … The first two games, I was taking pitches down the middle, which I hadn’t gotten in a while.”