Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake hit their first home runs as National Leaguers and Hiroki Kuroda pitched well into the eighth inning, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks last night at Dodger Stadium.
Kuroda (6-8) allowed a run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings, struck out six and walked none after allowing 20 earned runs in 18 1/3 innings over his previous four starts. The right-hander won for the first time since beating Atlanta 9-0 with a one-hitter on July 7.
The Dodgers, who dropped the first two games of this NL West showdown by 2-1 scores, trail the division-leading Diamondbacks by two games.
Miguel Montero's first home run of the season trimmed the Dodgers' lead to 3-1. Kuroda retired 16 of his next 17 batters before second baseman Jeff Kent committed an error on Montero's routine grounder.
Pinch-hitter Jamie D'Antona's bloop single put runners at the corners, but Hong-Chih Kuo came in and struck out Stephen Drew before retiring Orlando Hudson on a fielder's choice grounder to shortstop. Kuo allowed an RBI single in the ninth by Alex Romero, but Chan Ho Park got the final out for his second save in as many attempts.
Ramirez, playing his second game since the Dodgers obtained him from Boston on Thursday, didn't waste any time against Arizona's Yusmeiro Petit. The 12-time All-Star drove the right-hander's first pitch to him deep into the pavilion seats in left-center in the first inning for a 2-0 lead.
The Dodgers, whose five-game homerless drought coming in was their longest of the season, made it 3-0 in the second when Blake sent a 2-1 pitch into the lower seats in the left-field corner.
Other games of note:
ASTROS 5, METS 4 (10): Lance Berkman raced home when Darin Erstad lined out to left in the 10th inning and Houston won after tying it on a memorable play in the bottom of the ninth. New York was leading 4-2 when Houston loaded the bases with one out in the ninth against Billy Wagner. Pinch-hitter Geoff Blum then lined a single to left and Hunter Pence raced around third, right on Mark Loretta's heels in an image reminiscent of a scene in the baseball movie “Major League.” Both players slid in safely in a three-player collision with catcher Ramon Castro, who lost the ball. Castro left the game with a sprained right ankle.
MARLINS 5, ROCKIES 3: Ricky Nolasco struck out a career-high 13 and Jeff Baker hit a two-run homer to lead host Florida. Nolasco allowed three runs and four hits over eight innings to earn his first win in five appearances since July 7.
BREWERS 4, BRAVES 2: CC Sabathia pitched deep into the game and Prince Fielder hit two home runs, leading Milwaukee to victory in Atlanta – the Brewers' ninth straight road win.
CUBS 5, PIRATES 1: Reed Johnson had three hits, Geovany Soto drove in two runs, and Ted Lilly improved to 10-2 in his past 12 decisions as the Cubs won at home.
YANKEES 8, ANGELS 2: Mike Mussina retired the final 17 batters he faced, Jose Molina hit one of New York's four homers and the Yankees snapped Los Angeles' five-game winning streak. Alex Rodriguez, Wilson Betemit and Bobby Abreu all homered, and Mussina, a six-time Gold Glove winner, made several stellar plays on the mound to help the Yankees win in front of 54,170 fans on the final Old-Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium.
RED SOX 12, ATHLETICS 2: Jason Bay hit his first home run with Boston, Kevin Youkilis added a pair of two-run homers and the Red Sox cruised past Oakland at Fenway Park. Bay finished 1-for-4 and has reached base safely in six of his first 11 at-bats with Boston.
RAYS 9, TIGERS 3: Rookie Evan Longoria homered and drove in three runs and right-hander Andy Sonnanstine won for the first time in nearly a month. Carl Crawford contributed a two-run single for the Rays, who have won four straight and set a franchise record for home wins in a season (42) before a sellout crowd of 36,048 at Tropicana Field.
