So the somebody will be Tomko, despite a 1-7 record and 6.18 ERA. After losing his job as the fifth starter in May, then abused by opposing hitters as a long reliever, Tomko nonetheless got the nod over Eric Stults.

Little would commit only one of those starts to Tomko, who is at a crossroads in his Dodgers career. He's now a utility pitcher and clearly not happy about it, to the extent that he said his agent recently spoke with general manager Ned Colletti about the situation.

"It's been a miserable month," Tomko said. "I'm trying to weather the storm."

Tomko has been scored upon in his last five relief appearances. The original plan was to have Tomko start Monday, but Little indicated he didn't want to subject Tomko to the relentless booing he's heard from the home folks, so he moved Tomko up to Sunday.

It says a lot that Tomko might feel more comfortable pitching in the backyard of his former team -- and the Dodgers' archrivals -- than in front of home fans.

The unspoken reasoning for starting Tomko on Sunday is the calendar. The trade deadline is a little more than two weeks away. If Tomko cannot give the Dodgers a competitive start, they're likely to step up efforts to find someone who can.

Tomko conceded the change in roles and lack of success has weighed on him.

"I might have lost confidence," he said. "To go from a starter to mop-up guy, it doesn't feel great. Nobody wants to be a long guy in the bullpen. It takes a toll. It's not that I feel I can't get people out. I like starting. It's what I want to do next year. I have thought about next year. Being a long guy is not what I want to do."

Tomko said he knows this year will impact his value next year, when the Dodgers can buy out a $4.5 million salary for $1 million and cut him loose. He also said he knows Sunday could be a showcase for any other club that might want him.

It does make me sad indeed.

More on Tomko: Tomko has undoubtedly hit his roughest stretch as a Dodger, but Little said he still feels confident that his pitcher will snap out of this funk.

Tomko is 1-7 with a 6.18 ERA in 26 games (eight starts) and he has allowed at least one run in seven of his last nine appearances. In addition, Tomko has lost two games on the current homestand and has allowed a run in each of his last five appearances.

"I think you can still see the ball coming out of his hand. He just has to go through a spell where he's getting better results," Little said. "He's in a bad spell right now, but we look forward to him coming out it anytime now."

It's gotten so bad for Tomko that the Dodgers faithful has booed him in each of his five appearances on the homestand. In Friday's game, the reliever was booed before he made his first pitch and after he got the last out. He took the loss in the 6-5 Marlins win in 10 innings.

Give Tomko a break.  Sure, he sucks like hell right now, but the booing is dropping his confidence even further.  Support your Dodger...even though I'm very disappointed in him as well.