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Kuroda makes good start as LA Dodgers down Padres 7-1

Japan’s Hiroki Kuroda made a brilliant Major League Baseball debut Friday, holding the San Diego Padres to three hits in seven innings and leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-1 win.

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.

“Even though he’s a rookie in this league, he’s been pitching and he certainly just went out and took charge tonight,” manager Joe Torre said.

“I was very, very impressed. He didn’t seem to have any nerves at all. His pitch count was great. He did a lot of things tonight,” he said.

The 33-year-old Kuroda was one of the Dodgers’ big offseason acquisitions, signing a US$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.

“I didn’t think that I was going to be able to win so early in the season,” Kuroda said through a translator.

“I prepared so much for this game, but it’s only one game, so game by game, pitch by pitch, I want to go forward from here,” he said.

Kuroda said he was a little nervous before the game, “But I’ve experienced this nervousness in Japan before. Overall I was able to pitch my pitches.”

Kuroda got to keep the game ball, and Torre gave him the lineup card.

“He was deceptive,” Giles said. “His ball gets on you quicker than you think. It was good to see him tonight and I hope we make adjustments and do a little bit better the next time we see him.”

Kuroda squared up to bunt in the seventh, but ended up walking and scoring on a two-run single. A meltdown by the Padres’ bullpen led to six runs that inning.

The right-hander kept the Padres off the basepaths until the third.

The Padres didn’t get another baserunner until the sixth, when Giles drove a pitch over the home run porch down the right-field line with two outs to tie the game 1-1.

The Dodgers blew it open in the seventh, getting three singles, four walks and a sacrifice fly.
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