Kuroda Validates $33.5 Mil. Dodgers Deal with Winning Debut
iroki Kuroda was brilliant in his big league debut, holding San Diego to three hits in seven innings and leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-1 win Friday night.
Kuroda frustrated the Padres with a mix of fastballs and sliders, plus an occasional splitter. The right-hander allowed Brian Giles' first homer of the season, but otherwise limited the Padres to two singles while striking out four and walking none.
Kuroda (1-0) also walked and scored on Russell Martin's first hit of the season, a two-run single in the seventh. A meltdown by the Padres' bullpen led to six runs that inning.
The 33-year-old Kuroda was one of the Dodgers' big offseason acquisitions, signing a $35.2 million, three-year contract in December. He spent the previous 11 seasons with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Japanese Central League, where he was 103-89 with a 3.69 ERA in 271 games.
The right-hander kept the Padres off the basepaths until Germano singled to right on a 3-2 fastball with two outs in the third.
The Padres didn't get another baserunner until the sixth, when Giles drove a 2-0 pitch over the home run porch down the right-field line with two outs to tie the game at 1.
The Dodgers blew it open in the seventh against lefty relievers Joe Thatcher (0-1) and Glendon Rusch, getting three singles, four walks and a sacrifice fly.
After retiring Matt Kemp to open the inning, Thatcher walked Blake DeWitt, Kuroda and Rafael Furcal to load the bases. Martin, who was 0-for-13 coming into the inning, hit a 2-2 pitch past the outstretched glove of second baseman Tadahito Iguchi to bring in DeWitt and Kuroda, and chase Thatcher.
The Dodgers piled it on against Rusch, getting a sac fly by James Loney, a run on a wild pitch and RBI singles by Andre Ethier and Andruw Jones.
In the third, with two outs and Furcal on second base, Martin smoked a line drive toward center field but was robbed on a sensational diving catch by shortstop Khalil Greene.
Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff committed a throwing error on Jeff Kent's grounder in the fourth, leading to an unearned run.
Germano allowed an unearned run on three hits in six innings, struck out three and walked two.
Notes:@ RHP Chan Ho Park joined the Dodgers on Friday night after they purchased his contract from Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday. ''When he left, we basically told him that at the time we decided to go with that extra player, we were going to go with 12 pitchers, it would have been him,'' manager Joe Torre said. ''He trusted us and now we kept our word. We certainly didn't mean to keep our word this quickly.'' ... Padres manager Bud Black said CF Jim Edmonds remains on track to be activated from the disabled list before Saturday afternoon's game. Edmonds went 2-for-3 in his second and final rehab game at Class-A Lake Elsinore and played five innings in CF. He strained his right calf March 6 in a spring training game.
04/05/2008 01:12 AM
By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO
Los Angeles Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda pitches against the San Diego Padres in the first inning of their baseball game Friday April 4, 2008 in San Diego.
(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
iroki Kuroda was brilliant in his big league debut, holding San Diego to three hits in seven innings and leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-1 win Friday night.
