Tomorrow night’s starting pitcher for the Pods is a guy named Walter Silva, and if you have never heard of him, don’t worry about it because a lot of other people have never heard of him either. He has never pitched professionally in the U.S., and the Padres signed him to a minor-league deal early in spring training on the recommendation of the Gonzalez brothers, who had played with him in this year’s Caribbean World Series team from Mazatlan. He also had played with them for several seasons with Mexicali in the Mexican Winter League. Silva, who is 32, then drove his car from Mazatlan to Peoria, Ariz., for spring training. He didn’t find out he made the club, or the starting rotation, until Sunday. Before he decided to pitch professionally in the Mexican Winter League, he lived in Los Angeles for a while, more specifically Baldwin Park, where he played for a semipro team called the Baldwin Park Sultanas. He pitched every Sunday, then worked during the week at a local Outback Steakhouse. He says he has faced only one current Dodgers player, Rafael Furcal in a Caribbean World Series several years ago. Furcal says he doesn’t remember.

Here is the lineup, same as yesterday except for the pitcher.

Furcal. SS
Hudson. 2B
Ramirez. LF
Ethier. RF
Martin. C
Loney. 1B
Kemp. CF
Blake. 3B
Wolf. LHP