L.A. rookie delivers Kuo punch to Mets BY SEAN BRENNAN DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Before last night, all Hong-Chih Kuo was known for - and granted, this is a stretch - was giving up Barry Bonds' 705th home run last season, undergoing n ot one, but two Tommy John surgeries earlier in his career and becoming the third Taiwanese player to reach the major leagues, joining the Yankees' Chien-Ming Wang and Colorado's Chih-Hui Tsao. But after last night, Kuo might become known as a permanent member of the Dodgers' starting staff. Last night the 25-year-old lefthander made his first major league start and tossed six nearly flawless innings as the Dodgers silenced the Mets, 5-0, before 52,077 at Shea who were hoping to witness another game being shaved off the Mets' magic number total. But Kuo would have none of it. He surrendered just three hits over his six innings, while walking three and striking out seven, including hot-hitting Jose Reyes twice. He found himself in trouble only twice: Initially in the first inning, when he walked both Reyes and Carlos Beltran. But Reyes was erased trying to steal third before Carlos Delgado flew out to end the i nning. Later, in the fifth, Kuo yielded back-to-back singles to David Wright and Shawn Green - the Mets' first two hits of the game - to open the inning, but he fanned Chris Woodward and got Lastings Milledge to ground into an inning-ending double play to end that threat. "This guy was outstanding," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "He took us deep into the game and we knew he was limited with the number of pitches he had to work with because of his inexperience starting games. But he got us deep into the game with a good quality start. We're proud of him." Kuo (1-4), whose four losses have come in relief, got the call for his first start mainly because Mark Hendrickson, picked up from Tampa Bay in a trade earlier this season, has been a bust and was relegated to the bullpen. And Kuo was more than happy to jump at the chance to start. "I just tried to go out there, inning by inning, and do the best I can," said Kuo. Rafael Furcal, who homered last night, said he saw a different Kuo last night from the one who had come out of the pen all season. "He was different," Furcal said. "Eighty to 100% different. He had it goin' on. He was nasty." Originally published on September 9, 2006 -- 我的可愛女兒們 http://0rz.net/321AC --

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