LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw will be aiming for his first big league win Tuesday against a pitcher who has won 350 times.

Kershaw and the Dodgers will take on San Diego's Greg Maddux, a pitcher so experienced he won 18 games during the year Kershaw was born.

To Dodgers manager Joe Torre, the matchup reminds him of when former Yankees right-hander Roger Clemens took on the Cubs' Kerry Wood in an Interleague game when Wood was a young phenom like Kershaw.

"You have the old sage against the young upstart, so to speak, but the thing that we'll certainly remind Clayton about is he's pitching against San Diego, and not Maddux," Torre said. "That's something you don't want a kid to have in his head for no reason because he's pitching against their lineup."

Kershaw acknowledged it's "cool" that he'll be able to one day look back and say he pitched against the legendary Maddux, but that's not what he's concerned with.

"I'm not worried about who I'm pitching against," Kershaw said. "If I do what I can do, I'm not really worried about what he does."

This is an interesting game, Torre said, because matchups normally don't fall just right for a pitcher as accomplished as Maddux to pitch against a rookie as hyped as Kershaw.

Kershaw said he's excited to be facing San Diego, in addition to the fact he's going up against a hurler like Maddux.

As he continues his education in the Majors, Kershaw hopes to be more consistent with his fastball location, something Maddux has made a career out of perfecting.

"If I can get ahead of hitters, I'll be a lot better off," Kershaw said. "I know that's what a lot of pitchers will say, but even more so with me just find the fastball command. All my other pitches work off that, so I'll go from there."

Pitching matchup
LAD: LHP Clayton Kershaw (0-1, 4.91 ERA)
Kershaw battled the Rockies, and himself, for five innings in his third career start. Four of the first six outs were strikeouts, but he also allowed a two-run homer on a 10-pitch at-bat to Jeff Baker. With the Dodgers' struggling offense, it was enough to tag Kershaw with his first loss. He made 66 pitches in the first three innings and had four walks, so minimizing his pitch count will quickly become a high priority.

SD: RHP Greg Maddux (3-4, 3.48 ERA)
Maddux came up empty for the fifth consecutive time in his attempt at career victory No. 351, even though he pitched very well in his last start on Wednesday against the Cubs. Maddux allowed one run in seven innings on just three hits. He didn't issue a single walk and had four strikeouts. But the Padres' offense struggled to support him, which isn't too surprising. The Padres have scored three or fewer runs in eight games when Maddux has started.

Tidbits
Los Angeles finished its latest homestand with a 3-4 record, just its second losing homestand of the season. Pitchers posted a 2.57 ERA during the seven games, but the offense managed just 3.4 runs per game and batted .244. ... Catcher Gary Bennett had a bad day with his mental block about return throws to the mound Friday, but had a good day Saturday. He may join the team in San Diego for some work. ... Rehabbing pitcher Jason Schmidt (shoulder surgery) will accompany the Dodgers to San Diego, and the team will pick a spot for his next rehab start. ... The Dodgers and Cubs are tied 1,012-1,012 after they split this weekend's four-game series. The squads first played each other on May 29, 1890, in Brooklyn, N.Y. ... The Dodgers lead the NL in total attendance at 1,488,025, and rank second behind the Mets in average attendance with 45,091 per game. ... First baseman James Loney has hit in eight straight and 11 of 12. He's gone 9-for-28 (.321) in his past eight games, with one multi-hit contest. ... Dodgers legend Tommy Davis will be honored Monday at the Aquatic Foundation of Metropolitan Los Angeles Salute to Champions luncheon for his dedication to athletic endeavors, and for being a role model to young athletes. Other honorees include Olympic swimmers Janet Evans and Lenny Krayzelburg, and former USC All-American football player Mike Garrett. ... Emmanuelle Chriqui, who plays Sloan on the TV show "Entourage," threw out the first pitch Sunday.

Tickets
 Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.

On the Internet
 MLB.TV
 Gameday Audio
•  Gameday
•  Official game notes

On television
• PRIME-HD

On radio
• KABC 790, KHJ 930 (Español)

Up next
• Wednesday: Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 4-6, 3.57) at Padres (Josh Banks, 2-0, 0.39), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Thursday: Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda, 3-5, 3.49) at Padres (Randy Wolf, 4-4, 4.06), 12:35 p.m. PT
• Friday: Dodgers (Derek Lowe, 4-5, 4.15) at Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 5-2, 3.70), 4:05 p.m. PT