New York (16-14) at Los Angeles (18-14)

After the Los Angeles Dodgers had their eight-game win streak snapped over the weekend, manager Joe Torre said he expected the team to begin another one. In what has become a very familiar sight for Torre, Matt Kemp helped the Dodgers get off to a good start.

Kemp and the Dodgers go for their 10th win in 11 games on Tuesday when they host the New York Mets in the middle game of their series.

The outfielder started the season slow, going just 2-for-16 with seven strikeouts in his first five games and briefly losing his starting spot in right field. The Dodgers struggled through a longer offensive drought, ranking 12th in the NL with 4.1 runs per game during their 7-11 start.

However, both Kemp and Los Angeles (18-14) appear to have hit their stride. Kemp, recently named the NL player of the week, is 18-for-43 (.419) with two home runs, 18 RBIs and 10 runs scored during a 10-game hitting streak that started with the first win of the Dodgers’ eight-game streak from April 25-May 3.

That run was snapped with a 7-2 loss at Colorado on Sunday, but Kemp hit a two-run homer on Monday to help Los Angeles rebound with a 5-1 victory over New York (16-14).

“I’m excited about winning the player of the week, but that’s just one step. We should have been team of the week, if anything,” Kemp said. “They should give an award for that. We’ve been playing really well, and it shows. We’re all having good at-bats and we’re battling, trying to do whatever it takes to score runs and help the team win.”

Kemp is batting .389 with three homers and 24 RBIs in the team’s 18 victories, but has been held to a .216 average with no home runs and no RBIs in the 12 losses in which he has played. He’s a .367 hitter with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 16 career games against the Mets.

“He’s going to be a solid major league player for a long time,” said Kemp’s agent, four-time 20-game winner Dave Stewart. “The more he plays, the better he’s going to be at this game. It’s a good situation for him to be in.”

With Monday’s loss, the Mets dropped to 2-2 on their road trip and 3-6 in their last nine road games.

One bright side of the team’s current trip, however, is the emergence of Carlos Beltran, who was batting .133 in his previous 13 games, but has gone 4-for-14 with three walks and five runs scored on the trip. He tripled and score the Mets’ lone run Monday.

Beltran will face Los Angeles starter Hiroki Kuroda (1-2, 3.82 ERA) for the first time. The Japanese right-hander was reached for three runs in seven innings of his last start on Thursday, failing to factor in the decision in the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory at Florida.

Kuroda, who has given up eight runs in 12 innings spanning his first two games at Dodger Stadium, is making his first career appearance against the Mets.

New York will turn to right-hander Nelson Figueroa (2-1, 4.08), who gave up one run in 3 1-3 innings of relief in his last game on Wednesday in a 13-1 loss to Pittsburgh. He’s 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two career starts against the Dodgers, but hasn’t faced them since 2002.