PHOENIX (AP) - Daniel Hudson sounded more like a starting pitcher in spring training than one at the end of September.

``You kind of tell yourself that you have a more important start coming up in the playoffs so you take it as a fine tuning,' Hudson said after the Arizona Diamondbacks' 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night.

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The Diamondbacks, who had won four straight, remained one game behind Milwaukee for home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Brewers lost 9-8 to Pittsburgh on Monday night.

``We wanted to win that game and catch Milwaukee,' Hudson said. ``It was just a dumb pitch.'

That pitch was a changeup that floated over the middle of the plate before Matt Kemp drove it onto the walkway beyond the center-field fence for his NL-best 38th home run and a 3-0 first-inning Dodgers lead.

Hudson (16-12) settled down to retire the next 15 batters he faced but the damage was done. He finished with four runs allowed on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

``He made a mistake, a high changeup to Kemp, and that is not who you want to do it to,' Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. ``Other than that he pitched decent.'

The Diamondbacks were without right fielder Justin Upton, who was a late scratch one day after being hit in the head with a pitch. Upton was in Gibson's original lineup but was scratched after batting practice.

``I wasn't feeling 100 percent and Gibby at this point wants me 100 percent when I step on the field so there was no question asked,' Upton said.

Arizona rallied for two runs without a hit in the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt, who struck out with the bases loaded in the sixth, also came up the bases loaded in the eighth and struck out again. Mike MacDougal then walked pinch-hitter Geoff Blum to force home a run and trim Los Angeles' lead to 4-2, but Gerardo Parra flied out to left to end the inning.

The Diamondbacks drew five walks in the inning to match a franchise record.

Dodgers starter Dana Eveland (3-2) allowed five hits in 5 2/3 innings to snap a personal two-game losing streak and give the Dodgers their second straight win against the Diamondbacks after three straight losses in the season series.

Javy Guerra, the Dodgers' sixth pitcher, pitched the ninth for his 21st save in 22 chances.

Dee Gordon got the Dodgers off to a fast start with a leadoff double in the first. Jerry Sands then walked before Kemp hit his home run. Kemp also leads the NL with 123 RBIs and is third with a .324 batting average with two games left.

Kemp extended his modest hitting streak to 10 games and moved into fourth place on the Los Angeles single-season RBIs chart.

The Dodgers made it 4-0 in the seventh when James Loney doubled off the center-field wall and scored on Justin Seller's single to right.

NOTES: Arizona last had a five-walk inning July 30 in Los Angeles. ... Sands singled in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. ... Diamondbacks RHP Jarrod Parker, who went 11-8 for the Double-A Mobile, will make his major league debut Tuesday night against the Dodgers RHP Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda, 2-5 in 10 career games against Arizona, will be making his career-best 32nd start.