http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/pros/abox/article_1597971.php Sunday, March 4, 2007 Kuo could wind up as No. 5 starter Little liked the way the lefty looked on Saturday: two scoreless innings vs. the Mets. By AL BALDERAS The Orange County Register PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. – Dodgers pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo came to spring training with a windup. It's not that he didn't have one before, he just stopped using it years ago after undergoing Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career. Kuo, along with his reclaimed windup, pitched two scoreless innings in the Dodgers' 5-2, come-from-behind exhibition victory over the New York Mets on Saturday afternoon at Tradition Field. "I liked the way he looked out there," Dodgers manager Grady Little said of Kuo, a candidate for the fifth starting spot. "He looks like he's been throwing the ball better than he was at the end of last season. He had a little more confidence in his command out of the stretch last year, and he stuck with it." Kuo was told by the coaching staff at the end of last season to try working on his windup during the offseason. It has gotten to the point that he is comfortable with it, though hasn't seen any noticeable change in his velocity or command. But he'll keep using it. "I'm still working on getting better," he said. STILL ROLLING Larry Bigbie wasn't able to maintain his 1.000 batting average, going 1 for 2 in Saturday's game. Bigbie still came through with two RBIs, giving him seven in the past two games. He is batting .833. "I'm seeing the ball good, and I'm picking up off-speed pitches, which is kind of the main concern when you come to camp," he said. "You want to try to get your timing back, you want to see off-speed pitches, recognize them and get a good pitch to hit. "I've kind of gotten myself in good counts, and I'm trying to sit on one pitch early in the count. When you get it you can't miss it." Bigbie's ninth-inning single broke a 2-2 tie and led the Dodgers to their second victory of the spring in three games. NOTES The Dodgers announced that their home opener, on April 9 against the Colorado Rockies, sold out in less than 50 minutes. Thousands of fans lined up at the Dodger Stadium box office when tickets for individual games went on sale Saturday morning. The Dodgers already have sold more than 2 million tickets for the upcoming season, the fastest they ever have reached that mark. Fans will have a chance to chat online (www.Dodgers.com) with pitcher Randy Wolf at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Wolf is slated to be the No.4 starter. He was acquired in the offseason after spending the past eight seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. Little turned 57 on Saturday but wasn't planning to do much by way of a celebration. All he had on his agenda was dinner with broadcaster Charlie Steiner. "I'm getting as far away from celebrating as I can get," Little said jokingly. "I'm having dinner with Charlie, so that's probably anti-celebrating." TODAY The Dodgers will split their squad and play games against the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves. The game against the Braves will be played at the Dodgers' spring facility in Vero Beach. Derek Lowe will start in that game, which will be broadcast on KFWB/980. The other game will be played in Viera, Fla. Brett Tomko will be the starting pitcher. Both games start at 10:05 a.m. --

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