For Hiroki Kuroda, staying with the Dodgers was an easy decision. Shutting down the Padres looked even easier.
Kuroda pitched like a man free of all distractions, as his seven shutout innings led the Dodgers over the Padres, 1-0. It's his first win since July 1, all thanks to some anemic run support all season long. With only one run of support in this one, he took matters into his own hands.
The Dodgers started the game with promise, as Dee Gordon singled and stole second. But, Gordon was nailed trying to get to third on Casey Blake's grounder. Aaron Miles then grounded into a double play.
Not much happened until the fourth, when the game's only run was scored. Once again, it was Gordon who made some noise, reaching on a bunt single leading off. Groundouts by Blake and Miles advanced him to third.
I'll be you'll never guess which Dodger drove in the run? Mr. RBI himself, Matt Kemp. His single drove in Gordon for the 1-0 lead, which as you know, held up the rest of the game. It was Kemp's 84th RBI, just one ahead of Ryan Howard, who's swinging a red hot bat lately himself.
From there, both team's pitching staffs would bend a bit, but not break. The nice thing was that the Dodgers were the ones with the lead, and that never changed. So we'll take it.
Both teams put a couple runners on in the fifth. The Dodgers had singles by Juan Rivera and Dioner Navarro, but nothing came of it. The Padres put two on right away on a single by Blake Tekotte and a walk to Kyle Blanks. In true Padre fashion, the next two hitters struck out, and Cameron "Tiki" Maybin lined out to end the inning.
The seventh and eighth also brought scoring opportunities for the Padres, but the Dodgers made sure to get the big outs when they needed. In the seventh, Tekotte singled with an out and stole second as Blanks struck out. Will Venable was given the intentional pass to pitch to Latos. Instead, Logan Forsythe pinch-hit and watched a called strike three.
The following inning, Jason Bartlett and Chase Headley each singled with an out off of Mike MacDougal. Juan Guzman then hit a long fly to right that was caught by Andre Ethier, allowing Bartlett to tag to third. Orlando Hudson homered the night before off of Clayton Kershaw, but MacDougal got him to ground to second for the final out.
Still locked in a close game, Javy Guerra was once again called upon to get the save. He strutted his stuff for the ninth time, getting the Padres in order.
The story was obviously Kuroda, who was just brilliant. He lasted seven innings for four hits, no runs, two walks, and eight strikeouts. His 2.96 ERA ranks him eighth among starting pitchers in the National League. Even when he'd get into a bit of trouble, he would come up with a big strikeout to end the threat.
I'm sure there are many teams who weren't too happy after looking at Kuroda's line after the game. You know teams that were hot on his trails like the Yankees and Red Sox sure could use a pitcher like him. Like I said after the trade deadline passed, I just hope the Dodgers can re-up him for next season, especially after news came along that Rubby De La Rosa needs Tommy John surgery. Losing him to another team or back to Japan would be a big blow.
Tuesday night's win gives the Dodgers seven victories in their last 10 games. It should have been eight of 10 had Billingsley not blown it last Saturday against the Diamondbacks, but I digress. I don't care who the Dodgers play, any win is a good win, and if they keep playing well, they can overtake Rockies for third in the NL West. The Rockies have a 1/2 game edge currently.
The Dodgers will have a chance for a sweep tonight. Actually, they really don't considering the awful Ted Lilly takes the mound. Now if he can't put together a good start in Petco Park, the mother of all pitcher's parks, then I don't know if he ever can. Tim Stauffer, who like Kuroda has put together a great year, goes for the Pads.
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