SAN DIEGO -- A red-hot Matt Kemp and the Dodgers try for their first four-game winning streak of the season on Friday night as they open a three-game weekend series against the Padres at Petco Park.
The Dodgers have not won - or lost - more than three games in succession all season. They have lost three games in a row twice, but are currently on their fifth three-game winning streak.
Kemp is hitting .350/.420/.600 with five doubles, two triples, two home runs, 12 runs and 12 RBI in 17 games in June, including a seven-game hitting streak during which he is 13-for-27 (.481) with five multi-hit games.
In his career at Petco Park, Kemp is hitting .324/.374/.505, and has two home runs and is hitting .250/.273/.600 against Ian Kennedy, starting Friday night for the Padres.
Whether or not the Dodgers win Friday night, I'm sure manager Don Mattingly will say the team wants to win a series this weekend. The Dodgers haven't lost a series at Petco Park since 2010. They are 20-11 in San Diego since the beginning of 2011, including wins in all seven three-game series, one four-game series win, and splits of one four-game series and a two-game series.
Dan Haren starts for the Dodgers in the opener, looking for his third straight win. The right-hander allowed one unearned run on four hits in a win in San Diego on April 2, with six strikeouts and no walks. That was early Haren, with two home runs allowed and a 19.5-percent strikeout rate in his first seven starts, with a 2.68 ERA.
Haren has allowed a home run in each of his last seven starts, 10 in all, with an 11.1-percent strikeout rate and a 4.43 ERA.
Game info
Time: 7:10 p.m. PT
TV: SportsNet LA