LOS ANGELES -- Even as Dodgers first baseman James Loney has struggled out of the gate to a .217 average, the message from the coaching staff to Loney has been to stay the course, to stick with the hitting mechanics that led him to have that second-half surge last season instead of tinkering the way he so often did in the past, when he also seemed to listen to too much advice from too many people.

For the most part, that message has stuck with Loney. But manager Don Mattingly said he did catch Loney, who hails from the Houston area, doing something different at the plate during his first at-bat of the team's weekend series against the Astros, in which Loney struck out.

"I mentioned it to him as soon as he got back to the dugout, and he said, 'My bad,'" Mattingly said. "I figured he went to his batting cage in his hometown with a roll of quarters and got help from somebody there."

Loney took the message to heart, and the following night, he hit his first home run of the season to start the Dodgers on their way to a second consecutive win over the Astros before they dropped Sunday's finale. The Dodgers then flew home with a 12-4 record they compiled mostly against subpar clubs. Tonight, they face a real test in the opener of a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves.

Loney is in the lineup for that game, in his customary sixth spot. Here is the rest of the lineup:

Dee Gordon, SS

Mark Ellis, 2B

Matt Kemp, CF

Andre Ethier, RF

Juan Rivera, LF

James Loney, 1B

Juan Uribe, 3B

A.J. Ellis, C

Chris Capuano, LHP