(Sports Network) - R.A. Dickey targets his first win in six starts this afternoon when the New York Mets wrap up what has been a disastrous road trip with the finale of their four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
The Mets have managed just two wins thus far on their season-high 11-game West Coast swing and are 3-11 in their last 14 overall to fall into third place in the National League East 7 1/2-games off the pace of the first place Atlanta Braves.
Offensively the Mets have been abysmal, hitting just .194 on the trek with 23 runs, while being shut out three times.
New York lost in dramatic fashion on Saturday, as James Loney hit the game- winning home run in the bottom of the 13th to lift Los Angeles to a 3-2 win.
George Sherrill (1-1) tossed a scoreless top half of the frame to earn the win for the Dodgers, who used nine pitchers to win for a third time in their last four tries.
Oliver Perez (0-4), who worked out of a jam in the 12th, suffered the loss after yielding the decisive run in one inning of work
Matt Kemp flied out to open the 13th before Loney blasted a 1-0 offering over the wall in right-center field for his seventh long ball of the year.
"It felt pretty good when I hit it," said Loney about his game-winner. "I said to myself if that doesn't go out, something's wrong. If you're going to play a long game like that, it always feels good when you win."
After becoming the first starter in team history to win his first six decisions, Dickey has lost his last four. He lost his third straight start on Tuesday in Arizona, surrendering three runs and seven hits in seven innings to fall to 6-4 on the year, while raising his earned run average to a still respectable 2.73.
This will be his first start against the Dodgers.
Los Angeles will counter with 22-year-old left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who is 9-5 with a 3.15 ERA. Kershaw did not get a decision on Tuesday against San Francisco, as he allowed four runs (two earned) and four hits in six innings before being ejected in his team's wild 7-5 loss.
Kershaw has faced the Mets twice and is 1-09 with a 3.72 ERA in those starts.
The Mets have lost 11 of 16 games in Hollywood since the 2007 season, but have won four of six from the Dodgers this season.