NEW YORK -- Matt Kemp and the Dodgers finally figured out Johan Santana. Wholesale Jerseys . Theyre not the only ones to do that lately, either. Kemp homered early and Los Angeles hammered a struggling Santana before holding off the New York Mets 7-6 on Friday night. Luis Cruz connected for his first major league home run off Santana (6-7), who entered 5-0 with a 0.50 ERA in five career starts against the Dodgers. That included eight innings of three-hit ball in a 5-0 win June 30 at Los Angeles, but the two-time Cy Young Award winner has hit the skids hard since then. "We know what Johans capable of. We hopped out on him early, worked counts and got good pitches to hit and kind of made him pay for his mistakes," Kemp said. "Usually hes hitting spots and his stuff is a little bit better. I just think he was a little off today." Santana was pulled after three innings and fell to 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA in his last three starts, the worst three-game stretch of his stellar career. After missing last season following shoulder surgery, he is 3-5 with a 6.54 ERA in eight outings since throwing a career-high 134 pitches June 1 against St. Louis to finish off the first no-hitter in Mets history. "That no-hitter stuff was a long time ago," Santana said. "Im OK, just not able to execute. I feel OK. I dont feel my best right now." Mets manager Terry Collins said the team would discuss options with Santana about how to get some "energy" back in his arm, and a stint on the disabled list is a possibility. "Hes not hurt," Collins said. "Were going to talk about some alternatives as soon as Im done in here. Skipping a start, backing him up some -- those are some of things we are going to discuss. "He just hasnt responded," the manager added. "Its a command issue. Hes not making the pitches." In addition to the two-run homers by Kemp and Cruz off Santana, the Dodgers got RBI singles from Jerry Hairston Jr. and Juan Rivera to back Aaron Harang (7-5), who allowed one earned run in five innings. Rookie pinch-hitter Jordany Valdespin socked a two-run homer off Shawn Tolleson in the seventh to trim New Yorks deficit to 7-6. "It was a battle tonight, you know?" Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Seemed like we couldnt get away. Felt like everything I did didnt work out. It was just one of those games." Javy Guerra got out of the inning, however, and Ronald Belisario threw a called third strike past David Wright with a runner on to end the eighth. Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth for his 17th save. With a runner on second, he struck out pinch-hitter Justin Turner and retired Andres Torres on a popup to end a game that took 3 hours, 41 minutes in an intermittent drizzle. "It was nice to get the offence going out early," Andre Ethier said. "Wish we could have figured out a way to have it continue and kind of put them away instead of letting them back in the game like that." Four of Valdespins six homers have come as a pinch-hitter, tying Mark Carreon (1989) and Danny Heep (1983) for the clubs single-season record. Daniel Murphy had a season-high four hits for New York, including two doubles. Hairston made a tough play at third base to deny his brother, Scott, a leadoff single in the eighth. The Mets, who snapped a six-game losing streak Thursday in Washington to salvage the final game of a 1-5 road trip, have lost eight of 11. Ethier doubled and scored twice for the Dodgers, who opened a 10-game road trip with their second straight victory following a 1-7 slide. He also got his second stolen base of the season and scored on Riveras seventh-inning single to make it 7-4. Bobby Abreu opened the game with an infield single and Kemp, who hit a game-ending homer Wednesday against Philadelphia for his first long ball in 17 games since April 30, went deep for the second consecutive at-bat. "I feel my legs getting under me. I feel better. I feel pretty good at the plate," said Kemp, who missed 51 games with a strained left hamstring during two stints on the disabled list before returning last Friday. "I feel like my normal self." Hairston, who was 0 for 18 against Santana, made it 3-0 with an RBI single. Santana walked three batters with two outs in the second, and Ethiers four-pitch pass with the bases loaded made it 4-2. Cruz, filling in for injured shortstop Dee Gordon, drove a 1-2 pitch to left in the third to make it a four-run game. The home run ball was retrieved for Cruz so he can keep it as a memento. "Im very happy. Today is a big day for me," Cruz said. "That guy is one of the best pitchers in the league." Santana threw 72 pitches in three innings. The 33-year-old left-hander yielded six runs on seven hits and has given up 19 runs, 28 hits and six homers over 12 2-3 innings in his past three outings. Until his previous game at Atlanta, Santana had never given up six runs in consecutive starts. Now hes done it three times in a row. "Im just going through a tough time. Im not on top of my game right now," Santana said. "After everything Ive been through, Im very happy to take the mound every five days. I just have to keep working, battling, competing." NOTES: Dodgers RHP Chad Billingsley, on the DL since July 8 because of inflammation in his right elbow, was scheduled to throw a bullpen session at Citi Field. Mattingly said hes "pretty confident" Billingsley will be able to start Monday in St. Louis. ... New York will recall RHP Jeremy Hefner from Triple-A Buffalo before Saturdays game. Cyber Monday Jerseys . Manager Jim Leyland says Peralta will leave Wednesday for the instructional league in Florida, where hell play in the outfield. Peralta was Detroits starting shortstop, but the Tigers acquired Jose Iglesias from Boston just before Peralta was suspended following baseballs investigation into Biogenesis of America, a Florida anti-aging clinic accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs. . LOUIS -- T. [url=http://www.shopnflonline.net/Black-Friday-Oakland-Raiders-Sebastian-Janikow... . -- Second-ranked Western kept its undefeated season in tact by using its dominant ground game to run past No. [url=http://www.wholesalemlbcheapjerseys.com/]Cheap MLB Jerseys . Priscilla Lopes-Schliep and Perdita Felicien both failed to qualify for Canadas team bound for London in a dramatic womens 100-metre hurdles final that saw heptathlete Jessica Zelinka emerge the winner. . JOHNS, N.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- When the shootout dragged on into the eighth round, San Jose coach Todd McLellan was running out of good options. Joe Thornton made the most of a rare opportunity. Thornton scored his first shootout goal since 2007 and the Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 Wednesday night to extend the home-team dominance in this California rivalry. "Coach doesnt tend to look my way in a shootout, but it was nice to be involved in one," Thornton said. Thornton hadnt been used in a shootout since McLellan sent him out in the seventh round of an 11-round tiebreaker on Dec. 11, 2009, against Dallas. He hadnt scored in one since two years before that on Dec. 16, 2007, against Anaheim. But McLellan saw that his players had success trying to deke Ben Scrivens as opposed to shooting the puck past him, so he gave Thornton a chance. He skated in and stuffed a backhand past Scrivens for what proved to be the game-winner. "Obviously Jumbos not a big shooter, but he can move his hands pretty well, and he ends up coming up with the win," McLellan said. Antti Niemi then stopped Tyler Toffoli to seal it. Niemi made 38 saves as San Jose opened a difficult stretch of three games in four days against top-five teams. Thornton and Joe Pavelski scored in regulation for the Sharks, who have won nine straight at home against the Kings including the post-season. In all, the home team has won the last 14 matchups, including all seven in last springs playoff series won by Los Angeles. "Its kind of the same way theyve beaten us in their rink -- by one goal, comeback, or however it works out," Pavelski said. "We know we can play with them. We had our chances to win there. They are probably saying the same thing here. Weve got to find ways to win in their building as well, but this was a good win for us tonight." Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty scored for the Kings, who tied a franchise record by earning a point in their 11th straight game. They also did that in 1973-74 and 2010-11. Scrivens made 38 saves. "It was fun, though we came out at the wrong end of it," Scrivens said. "They have some skill guys. Its a learning experience." The game was played with the high intensity expected from ttwo fierce rivals with a recent playoff history who are at the top of their games. [url=http://www.shopnflonline.net/Black-Friday-Dallas-Cowboys-Demarco-Murray-Jer... Murray Black Friday Jersey. These teams have met twice in the past three postseasons, with each winning once, including Los Angeles triumph in the second round last spring. Each benefited from a fluky goal, with San Jose taking a 2-1 lead late in the second period when Thornton took the puck from Willie Mitchell behind the net and then Scrivens kicked in a loose puck. The Kings got the fortunate bounce early in the third to tie the game when Doughtys centring pass hit defenceman Scott Hannans skate and deflected past Niemi for the equalizer. Los Angeles then killed off three successive minor penalties in a span of less than 7 minutes to preserve the tie and set the stage for shootout. "It was pretty intense," Kings centre Anze Kopitar said. "We got off to a good start and I thought we played well in the second period and were down, 2-1. We got it back and went deep into the shootout." The Kings jumped on top early when Dwight King knocked down Tomas Hertl on the opening shift and played a pass off the end boards to Carter, who banged it past Niemi just 18 seconds into the game. Niemi prevented Los Angeles from adding to that lead when he stopped Mike Richards backhand attempt on a 2-on-0 break after Richards stole the puck from Dan Boyle. The Sharks then dominated the second half of the period, but Scrivens stopped all 18 shots in the first to preserve a 1-0 lead. Pavelski tied it early in the second when he got to a loose puck in the slot and lifted it over Scrivens for his ninth of the season. Los Angeles failed to capitalize on a 4-minute power play when Boyle was called for high-sticking Justin Williams. Despite near constant pressure, Niemi stopped all six shots during the double minor to the delight of a sellout crowd that chanted "Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!" throughout the night. NOTES: The Kings went 0 for 4 on the power play and have converted just three of their last 35 chances. ... Thornton moved into sole possession of 50th place on the career points list with 1,143. ... D Matt Irwin returned to the lineup for San Jose after being a healthy scratch for six straight games. Jason Demers sat out. ' ' '