09/09/2006 1:17 PM ET Notes: Kuo rewards Dodgers' faith After impressive outing against Mets, lefty earns second start By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com NEW YORK -- Acey Kohrogi, director of Asian operations for the Dodgers, remembers scouting Hong-Chih Kuo in an international tournament in Japan in 1999. "He was just a 17-year-old boy, but he was dominating men," Kohrogi said of Kuo, who dominated the Mets in six scoreless innings of his first Major League start on Friday night. "Everybody was scouting two pitchers there, but the director of the Taiwan national team said to get the lefty because of his courage." For $1.25 million, the Dodgers made Kuo the first Taiwanese high school player to sign with a Major League organization. After five years of elbow problems and only checkered success as a Major League reliever, Kuo has earned a second start Thursday in Chicago off his clutch effort at Shea Stadium. Kuo came to Spring Training this year as a long shot to make the Major League club, and he didn't help his cause any by participating for Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic, because it robbed him of innings in front of the eyeballs of a new management team needing to make player evaluations. To Kuo, however, his decision to pitch in the World Baseball Classic was a no-brainer: represent his country while satisfying a military obligation that had been deferred while he chased his baseball dream. As it was, he made the Opening Day roster with an overpowering spring -- 0.75 ERA, 14 strikeouts and one walk in 12 innings. No no-no for Kuo: Although Kuo took a no-hitter into the fifth inning (ruined by David Wright's leadoff single), manager Grady Little said he was prepared to lift Kuo around the 100-pitch mark, regardless of the game situation. Little was watching out for Kuo's left elbow, which has undergone two Tommy John operations. Little was quick to note that he has already lifted a pitcher with a no-hitter intact -- Greg Maddux, after six hitless innings against Cincinnati in his Dodgers debut, because of an extended rain delay. Only three pitchers have thrown no-hitters in their first Major League start -- most recently Bobo Holloman of the St. Louis Browns against the Philadelphia A's in 1953; also Charlie Jones of Cincinnati against Pittsburgh in 1892 and Ted Breitenstein of St. Louis against Louisville in 1891. Little said he had no problem with Kuo pitching out of a stretch during the entire game. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said Kuo made that decision when he resumed starting at Triple-A Las Vegas in August because he felt more comfortable. "The game is dictated by the starting pitcher and whatever way he feels most comfortable doing, I don't care," said Little, a former catcher. "We've got to remember what the kid has been through. He's come a long way to win that game last night. Whatever he's comfortable with, we are too." Stults' turn: Buoyed by the success of Kuo in his first big-league start, Little looks for a repeat with another lefty making his first Major League start on Sunday: Eric Stults. "It goes without saying, not that we'd do anything different, but you feel a lot better after watching that [on Friday] night," said Little. "And the other kid [Stults] probably feels better after seeing what took place. We have a lot of confidence in what that kid can do. We saw a lot of him in Spring Training and we've got [Las Vegas pitching coach] Kenny Howell with us now, and he was with him all season. He's given us a good read. He won't shy away from batters, and he's got quality pitches to work with." During Spring Training, Stults pitched in three games with the big-league club and had a 2.00 ERA with five strikeouts and four walks in nine innings. (下略) http://0rz.net/501Rv --

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