Dodger blog True Blue LA thinks Hiroki Kuroda’s masterful performance in LA’s 3-0 win over Philadelphia Monday night was the perfect antidote for all of the off-the-field disturbances in Dogertown these days.
True Blue LA: Kuroda’s Gem Washes Away Negativity Swirling Around Dodgers
The Dodgers officially severed ties with Manny Ramirez today, the same day the McCourt divorce trial began, and to top it all off had to stomach facing Roy Halladay tonight at Dodger Stadium. However, Hiroki Kuroda washed away the negativity with an absolute gem, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning, and beat the Phillies, 3-0 in the opener of a three-game series.
Melissa Joan Hart thew out the first pitch, but it was Kuroda cast his spell on the Phillies tonight, allowing just four baserunners in his 7 2/3 innings. He hit Jayson Werth in the second inning, but erased him on a double play. Carlos Ruiz walked in the sixth, and Werth walked in the eighth, then Shane Victorino broke up the no-hitter with one out in the eighth inning, lining a single to right field.
It was the deepest a Dodger has taken a no-hitter this season, surpassing Vicente Padilla, who flummoxed the Padres through 6 1/3 innings on August 4. Kuroda’s previous flirtation with a no-hitter was on July 7, 2008, when he had a perfect game through seven innings against Atlanta, only to have Mark Teixeira break it up with a leadoff double in the eighth inning.
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