Dodgers hope to continue winning ways against Padres

Now that the Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched their first winning month of the season they can relax and focus on how to make the 2012 campaign even better.

Nothing less than a miracle can put the Dodgers into postseason contention, as they sit 12 games off Arizona's pace in the NL West and 16 games behind the Wild Card-leading Atlanta Braves. LA looks to make it two straight wins over the San Diego Padres tonight in the second portion of a three-game series.

Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw did his part in Monday's 4-1 win with another complete-game performance to tie Ian Kennedy with 17 wins in the National League. It was Kershaw's fifth complete game of the season and he gave up a run and six hits with five strikeouts and two walks. He also retired the last 11 batters he faced and is aiming to become the first Dodgers pitcher to win 20 games since Ramon Martinez back in 1990.

"It was rough early, then all of a sudden he got into a groove," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Things were going so easy as the game went on. It made my decision easy to keep him in there in the ninth. Clayton is as good as anyone out there."

Kershaw is 9-1 over his last 10 starts and moved to 10-1 in 14 games this season at Dodger Stadium. James Loney aided his starter by belting a two-run homer and Andre Ethier finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for Los Angeles, which has won six of seven games and is 3-1 on a six-game homestand. Loney is riding an eight-game hitting streak and helped LA improve to 15-11 this month.

Hiroki Kuroda has a tough act to follow when he toes the rubber for the Dodgers tonight and has won three straight and four of five starts. He held St. Louis to three runs and eight hits in seven innings during Wednesday's 9-4 win at Busch Stadium to improve to 10-14 in 26 starts with a 2.92 ERA. Kuroda has received more than enough run support in his last three starts (24 runs).

The Japanese right-hander beat the Padres with seven shutout innings on Aug. 2 in a 1-0 victory and is 7-4 with a 3.49 earned run average in 13 career starts in this matchup. Kuroda hasn't pitched well at Chavez Ravine, however, going 3-9 in 14 outings.

San Diego has lost five in a row since winning five straight and fell to 1-5 on a nine-day, eight-game road trip following Monday's loss. Mat Latos failed to combat with Kershaw and was reached for four runs and five hits over six frames to fall to 6-13 on the season.

"I made a couple of good pitches when I needed to, but things didn't go my way," Latos said. "I'm mixing my pitches. It's a lack of consistency."

Nick Hundley doubled in the only run for the Padres. Center fielder Cameron Maybin is expected to return to San Diego for an MRI on his balky right wrist and is hitting .275 with eight homers and 35 RBI this season. He hasn't seen action since going 0-for-4 on Aug. 26 in a 5-0 loss at Arizona.

Jesus Guzman has reached base safely in 21 of his last 26 games since July 30, while Hundley has hit in 12 of his past 14 contests since being reinstated from the disabled list on Aug. 12.

The Padres will pin pitching duties on Tim Stauffer tonight and he's 8-10 with a 3.42 ERA in 27 starts. Stauffer has lost four of his previous six decisions and was beaten by San Francisco in Wednesday's 2-1 loss by the Bay, as he yielded both runs in six innings of work. Stauffer beat the Dodgers in a 3-0 win on Aug. 3 at Petco Park with 6 1/3 shutout innings.

Stauffer, a right-hander, is 4-3 with a 2.82 ERA in 11 career matchups, nine of which have been starts, with Los Angeles. He is 3-6 in 14 road assignments.

Los Angeles has won nine of 13 meetings with San Diego this season, including five wins in seven tries at Dodger Stadium.