Kuo's arm, and bat, help Dodgers win The pitcher, Betemit and Kemp hit successive home runs. By AL BALDERAS The Orange County Register LOS ANGELES Hong-Chih Kuo is continuing to get better as a pitcher — and a hitter. Kuo, Wilson Betemit and Matt Kemp hit second-inning home runs off New York Mets pitcher John Maine, leading the Dodgers to a 4-1 victory Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. The victory allowed the Dodgers to creep back to percentage points behind first-place San Diego Padres. The Padres lost their fourth consecutive game and have a .571 winning percentage (36-27). The Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks are in a virtual tie with the Padres but have a winning percentage of .569. Kuo pitched seven strong innings, scattering five hits. But the talk in the clubhouse centered more on Kuo's home run. "I played with him in Triple-A, and I've seen him take batting practice," Kemp said of Kuo. "Even in a game he went straight-center so it didn't really surprise me too much." James Loney was aware of Kuo's power as well, saying Tuesday's home run reminded him of a grand slam that Kuo hit in the minors last season. Loney gave Kuo one of his bats, and Kuo used it during batting practice but not in the game. "It's a little too heavy for me," Kuo said. The Dodgers were trailing, 1-0, when Betemit hit an 0-1 pitch from Maine into the bleachers in left-center field. Kemp hit Maine's next pitch around the left-field foul pole and into the loge-level seats. Kuo finished it off with a first-pitch, 412-foot drive that landed in the right-field pavilion. He also scored some style points in the way he flipped the bat away after making contact. "We know how good of a team they are, and we know how good of a pitcher Maine is," said Kemp, whose home run was measured at 447 feet. "He gave us some good pitches to hit, and we took advantage of it." The three home runs were the most the Dodgers have hit consecutively since they hit four in a row last Sept. 18 against the Padres. The last time the Dodgers hit consecutive home runs in a game this season was on April 29 when Jeff Kent and Luis Gonzalez went back-to-back in San Diego. Kuo became the first Taiwanese player in major-league history to hit a home run. He and New York Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang are the first Taiwanese pitchers to earn victories on the same day. Wang was the winning pitcher against the Diamondbacks. Kuo's first victory as a starter came last season against the Mets. His winning formula in Tuesday's victory came from pitching out of the stretch throughout the game and following the signs put down by catcher Russell Martin. The Mets failed to get a runner past second base after scoring in the second inning. "Me and (pitching coach Rick) Honeycutt talked it over and he said to do what I am more comfortable with," Kuo said of pitching from the stretch. "I pitched a little better (Tuesday) because Russell called the pitches. I tried to follow him." Martin was quick to shovel some of the credit back to Kuo. "He took advantage of the inside part of the plate and that allowed him to get some swings and misses on his offspeed pitches," Martin said. "He kind of has like a sneaky fastball. He hides the ball really well. When he has that plus-velocity going, hitters have a hard time laying off that heater that's a little bit off the belt." --

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