• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Dodgers close out homestand against Padres

Sep 10, 2014 - 2:35 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try not to lose any more ground atop the NL West and hope to close out their homestand on a high note Wednesday in the finale of a three-game series versus the San Diego Padres.

The Dodgers now have a 2 1/2-game lead over San Francisco after Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Padres, coupled with the Giants' 5-1 victory versus Arizona.

San Diego stormed out to a 5-0 lead before the Dodgers inched their way back into the game. However, the Dodgers failed to extend their winning streak to five games and starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez was saddled with the loss for giving up five runs -- two earned -- in only three innings.

"Roberto got the ball up tonight," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. "He's usually a groundball pitcher."

Adrian Gonzalez belted a two-run homer in the sixth inning to get Los Angeles on the board and he has gone deep four times in the last four games with 10 RBI in that span. Dee Gordon, Carl Crawford and Juan Uribe had two hits apiece for the Dodgers, who are 5-3 on a nine-game homestand.

Matt Kemp doubled in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.

LA will start a 10-game road trip this weekend against the rival Giants.

The Dodgers will send Dan Haren to the hill Wednesday and he is 4-1 in his last six starts. Haren won his previous outing in Friday's 2-1 victory over the D-backs and held them to a run and four hits in six innings.

Haren improved to 12-10 with a 4.17 earned run average and is 6-4 in 13 home starts this season. The righty is 1-1 in four starts against the Padres this season and 6-5 with a 3.68 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) lifetime in this series.

San Diego ended a six-game slide last night and goes for a series win Wednesday. The Padres last won a series from Aug. 29-31 against LA.

Andrew Cashner pitched well in the win and limited the NL West leaders to a pair of runs in seven innings of work. Cashner had been winless since April 16 despite pitching to a 2.86 ERA over 11 starts.

Jedd Gyorko hit a two-run homer to back Cashner's strong performance.

"I was looking for a fastball over the plate and I put a good swing on it," Gyorko said. "Any time you hit the ball hard, it's a good thing."

The Padres are 1-4 on a nine-game road trip and will visit Arizona next for three games in the desert.

Ian Kennedy will pitch against the Dodgers for the sixth time this season and is 0-2 with a 3.90 earned run average over the first five starts. The right- hander will face them for a third time since Aug. 19 and is coming off Thursday's 5-1 loss to Arizona, which posted four runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Kennedy, who is 10-12 with a 3.75 ERA, has alternated wins and losses in his last six decisions and is 6-6 in 14 road starts. In 18 career starts against the Dodgers, Kennedy has a 5-4 record and a 2.86 ERA.

LA is 11-7 against San Diego this season with a 6-3 mark as the host.