(Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try for a series split with the New York Mets, and maintain their new lead in the National League West, when the two clubs wrap their four-game series this afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

Thanks in part to recent struggles by San Diego that includes a current two- game losing streak, the Dodgers jumped over the Padres and into first place in the NL West by a game courtesy of an 8-6 victory over the Mets on Saturday.

Matt Kemp hit a three-run homer as part of a five-run fourth inning and Juan Pierre added two hits and a pair of RBI to extend his hitting streak to 14 games for the Dodgers, who had dropped the first two games of this series.

Brad Penny (12-1) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs -- three earned -- on six hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts. With the win, he became the first starting pitcher to open a season 12-1 for the Dodgers since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1958.

Jorge Sosa (7-5) gave up six runs and eight hits over four innings for New York, which had won three of four coming in. However, the loss, coupled with Atlanta's win over St. Louis, cut the Mets' lead to just 2 1/2 games for the top spot in the NL East over the Braves.

Carlos Beltran and David Wright both contributed two-run home runs. It was Beltran's third straight game with a homer.

Los Angeles' Eric Stults will get the starting nod today for the first time this season and for just the third time in his career. The left-hander has made four relief appearances with the Dodgers this year, going 0-1 with a 5.06 earned run average in that span. He was last in action on Tuesday when he tossed three innings against the Phillies, allowing four runs on eight hits.

Stults' first career start came against the Mets last year and he picked up his lone career win when he threw six frames of one-run ball on September 10, 2006.

Mark Hendrickson was originally slated to start this contest for LA, but threw two innings of relief in this series on Thursday and had his next start pushed back to Tuesday.

The Mets will send Orlando Hernandez to the hill this afternoon, and the hurler is coming off two straight wins that upped his record to 6-4 on the season with a shining 2.96 ERA.

Hernandez posted a win over Cincinnati on July 12 behind six innings of two- run ball before topping the Padres on the road Tuesday. The right-hander tossed seven shutout innings against San Diego, scattering two hits and a pair of walks in the victory.

"El Duque" faced the Dodgers on June 11 and took the loss after allowing five runs (four earned). He is 1-2 lifetime against them with a 5.64 ERA.

The Dodgers swept a three-game series against New York this season from June 11-13 at Chavez Ravine. The Mets went 4-3 against LA in the 2006 series and swept Los Angeles in three games during last October's NL playoffs.