The Dodgers (43-45) closed out a 5-2 trip Sunday by beating San Francisco 5-3, building upon two victories in a three-game home series against the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels the previous weekend.

"The personality is good," Torre told the team's official Web site. "It seems like a loose bunch, but they're attentive. The guys are into the game. I sense, not that they weren't before, but they're really into it, not that they didn't care before.

"To me, it started on the road trip. After we beat the Angels two of three, maybe they took stock of the situation and realized maybe we're pretty good. I sense a change on this trip."

The Dodgers are one-half game behind NL West-leading Arizona, which is idle, and haven't been atop the division since the first week of the season.

Hiroki Kuroda (4-6, 3.73 ERA) takes the mound looking to win a second consecutive start in the series opener. The right-hander was impressive Wednesday, scattering five hits in seven scoreless innings of a 4-1 win at Houston in his first start since right shoulder tendinitis landed him on the disabled list June 19.

Kuroda threw 83 pitches and showed no signs of being slowed by the injury.

"I expected him to have a good outing," Torre said, "but to give us seven innings like that and to have his pitch count where it was and to be as sharp as he was, I didn't expect him to be that good. He was great and saving the bullpen to boot."

Kuroda, who signed a three-year, $35.3 million contract with the Dodgers in December after spending 11 years pitching for Japan's Hiroshima Toyo Carp, lost to the Braves on April 20, allowing two runs and seven hits in six innings of a 6-1 defeat.

The Braves (42-47), fourth in the NL East, are looking to build on Sunday's 7-6, 17-inning victory over Houston to take two of three from the Astros following a five-game slide.

"It was a big sigh of relief," Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira told the team's official Web site after driving in the winning run Sunday. "We have to continue to win series if we're going to get back in this, so this was a good start."

Atlanta turns to Jorge Campillo (3-3, 2.99), who is looking to rebound from his third loss in four games in his first start against the Dodgers.

The right-hander is 1-3 with a 4.44 ERA in his last four starts, with the lone win coming against Milwaukee on June 25, when he allowed two runs and four hits with six strikeouts in seven innings of a 4-2 victory.

Campillo wasn't nearly as effective Wednesday, giving up five runs and eight hits - including two homers - in five innings of a 7-3 loss to Philadelphia.

Chipper Jones, who leads the majors with a .388 average, went 6-for-11 (.545) with two homers and four RBIs in the last series against the Dodgers, including a 2-for-3 performance off Kuroda. The third baseman, who went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs on Sunday, was named to next Tuesday's All-Star game with catcher Brian McCann.