http://0rz.tw/5d2IC Kuo shows his flip side for L.A. BY TONY JACKSON, Staff Writer Article Last Updated: 06/12/2007 11:54:16 PM PDT Hong-Chih Kuo created a national stir back in Taiwan, becoming the first and pe rhaps least likely native of that country to hit a home run in a major-league g ame. The Dodgers left-hander also created a smaller stir with his reaction to the bl ast, a gentle flip of his bat that raised at least one set of eyebrows in the o pposing dugout. But the most important stir Kuo would create in Tuesday night's game, a 4-1 vic tory over the New York Mets in front of 42,438 at Dodger Stadium, was in the co rner of his own team's dugout, where manager Grady Little and pitching coach Ri ck Honeycutt finally saw exactly what they had been looking for from their late st fifth starter. Kuo, whose twice-reconstructed left elbow suggests that his mere presence in th e major leagues is something of a miracle, is beginning to prove he can be more than a feel-good story. Besides capping a stretch of three consecutive Dodgers home runs off a shell-sh ocked John Maine in the bottom of the second inning, Kuo also put on a convinci ng display from the mound. The result was a stellar, seven-inning effort in which the Mets couldn't muster more than five hits, allowing Kuo to finally muster his first win of the seaso n and the second of his big-league career - both of which have come at the hands of t he suddenly struggling Mets. With Honeycutt's blessing, Kuo worked entirely out of the stretch, from which h e has been much more comfortable since his second Tommy John surgery in 2003. "I went back to it, and I pitched a little better," said Kuo, who had made two previous starts since being recalled from the minors June 2 and immediately dro pped into the fifth spot. "After my surgery, they sent me to the minors on a re hab, and I only pitched out of the stretch for the next two or three years befo re I ever went back to the windup. So it got to the point where I was just more comfortable pitching that way, and I have been ever since." Honeycutt said he and Kuo discussed the matter sometime after Kuo's previous st art, a solid, six-inning effort last Thursday night at San Diego in which Kuo o utdueled the inimitable Jake Peavy only to see the Dodgers bullpen blow a four- run lead in the ninth. "He brought it up between outings, and I said that the main thing is for him to be comfortable," Honeycutt said. "If you're more comfortable going out of the stretch, then go out of the stretch." For the most part, Kuo looked comfortable throughout. He gave up consecutive singles to David Wright and Carlos Delgado to begin the second, with a Wright stolen base in between, to give the Mets a short-lived, 1 -0 lead. But Kuo quickly shut that inning down after getting Paul Lo Duca to gr ound into a double play, and the Dodgers immediately responded with home runs o n three consecutive pitches from Maine by Wilson Betemit, Matt Kemp and Kuo. Kuo's theatrics, whether intentional or otherwise, had Mets manager Willie Rand olph in a sarcastic mood after the game. "He must be used to doing that a lot," said Randolph, who might or might not ha ve known that it was Kuo's first home run since high school. "It was pretty stylish." Little said he was watching the flight of the ball and didn't see Kuo flip his bat. "We'll talk to him," Little said. "That might be the only chance in his whole c areer he gets to do that, to tell you the truth." Armed with that 3-1 lead, Kuo got into mild trouble in the third by walking Mai ne (6-4). But he pitched out of a first-and-second, one-out jam by getting Shawn Green an d Carlos Beltran to fly to left, and he cruised from there. Kuo retired 14 of his last 16batters to lift the Dodgers (37-28) back into a th ree-way tie for the National League West lead with San Diego and Arizona, and a lso put them in a position for what as recently as two days ago would have seem ed like a highly improbable, three-game sweep of the Mets. Most importantly for Kuo (1-1) is that he clearly is improving with each start. "He is just throwing strikes," Little said. "That first outing (on June 2 at Pi ttsburgh), he was all over the place. It just takes a little time to get comfor table out there, and he is certainly feeling more comfortable now." Takashi Saito retired the heart of the Mets order in the ninth for his 18th sav e. [email protected] --- 這一篇交給強者... --

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