I went to the Dodgers-Mets Sunday Night Baseball game this past week thinking that I'd see a pitcher's duel between Hiroki Kuroda and Johan Santana. Unfortunately for me, only Santana obliged.
Last night, however, Kuroda was the total package. With the Dodgers needing a huge start, he delivered, giving up only 4 hits and striking out 11 in a complete game blanking of the Chicago Cubs, 3-0. It's by far the best start of any Dodger pitcher this season.
Of course, it's always good to have a bit of a lead when you're on the mound, and the Dodgers were able to get 1 on the board in the 1st. With Delwyn Young getting the start in right field instead of Andre Ethier facing the lefty Sean Gallagher, he walked with 1 down. Jeff Kent, whose bat has been heating up as of late, hit a long double that bounced off the center field wall, scoring Young for the 1-0 lead.
In the 4th, the Dodgers put the first 3 men on base on a walk to James Loney and singles by Matt Kemp and Blake DeWitt. Loney scored on an RBI groundout by Danny Ardoin, starting in place of the resting Russell Martin. The last run came in the 6th when Ardoin executed a perfect suicide squeeze to again score Loney. It's that type of small ball execution that the Dodgers desperately need to win.
As I said before, Kuroda was terrific in every way. The biggest threat he faced was in the 4th when Ryan Theriot singled to lead off and Derek Lee hit an infield single after that, with Theriot going to 3rd on an error by Loney. Aramis Ramirez then struck out, and Kosuke Fukudome grounded into a double play. That sounds like your basic Dodgers offensive inning, so it's nice to see the shoe on the other foot for a change.
It's a good thing Kuroda's pitch count wasn't too high heading into the 9th. After watching Takashi Saito give up the lead the previous night, I'm not sure Dodger fans would be too receptive of him. Kuroda finished the night very strong, K'ing Alfonso Soriano and Theriot. It's his 3rd win of the season and his ERA now stands at 3.49.
2 more big games are on tap for this weekend, and it's a great matchup today of Carlos Zambrano, who's been fantastic all year, against Derek Lowe, who's really turned it on as of late. It's a FOX game, but not in my neck of the woods where the Red Sox get the exposure. Oh well. Enjoy it for those of you that can see it.
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