By David Lassen on August 1, 2011 7:19 PM SAN DIEGO -- Hong-Chih Kuo's struggles continued Sunday, as the reliever gave up two earned runs during a one-inning stint in the Dodgers' 6-3 loss to Arizona. That means the left-hander has, in his last four appearances, given up eight earned runs in two innings, raising his already lofty ERA to 12.46. That will not dissuade manager Don Mattingly from continuing to send Kuo to the mound. "You know it's there," he said. "That's the thing I always try to keep sight of: I know it's there. That guy that was there last year is there. We've got to get him back there. And that's really the battle of being confident with him. We'll continue to use him. "I guess our misfortune this year really ends up being a little bit of fortune for him, because it gives us an opportunity to keep putting him in there. If we were a game back or something, it would be a lot more of a concern point. Now we get a chance hopefully to get him back." Mattingly and trainer Stan Conte both say Kuo's left elbow, a longtime issue, is sound. But the anxiety disorder that sent him to the disabled list earlier this season is never far in the background. "That kind of issue never goes away," Conte said. "It stays. It was there every pitch in 2010 (when Kuo was 3-2 with a 1.20 ERA and 12 saves, earning an All-Star berth). "It's all how he's able to handle it." Mattingly considered letting Kuo work a second inning on Sunday, because he liked the what he saw when the pitchre retired the final two batters in the eighth. "If we didn't have a long inning (in the bottom of the eighth) I would have sent him back out," Mattingly said, "... because those last two hitters, he kind of let it go, and it was like you went, 'Oh, there you go.' "He's basically had trouble getting his secondary pitch over. That's been his biggest issue. He's throwing strikes, he's narrowing down." http://blogs.pe.com/prosports/2011/08/dodgers-more-on-kuos-woes.html ==================== Mattingly sticks with struggling Kuo By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com | 08/01/11 11:00 PM ET SAN DIEGO -- Struggling Dodgers reliever Hong-Chih Kuo has had four consecutive ineffective outings that have Don Mattingly "a little bit" concerned, but the manager said he will continue to give Kuo the ball. There is no indication that the left elbow that has been operated on four times is bothering the southpaw. As for the anxiety disorder that sidelined Kuo for six weeks and has saddled him with the "yips" in past seasons, Kuo acknowledged Sunday that a lack of confidence "probably" is a contributing factor. Trainer Stan Conte said that would be normal. "That kind of issue doesn't go away," Conte said. "It stayed there every pitch of 2010 [when Kuo was an All-Star]. It's all in how he's able to handle it. His elbow is OK and he tells me he can go out there." On Sunday, Kuo allowed three hits, including a home run, and a walk. But he also finished the inning with a pair of strikeouts. "If he didn't have a long inning, I wanted to send him back out," said Mattingly. "Those last two, he let it go. He's having trouble with his secondary pitches. I'm concerned about anybody that's struggling. But it's like [Rafael Furcal]. You know it's there. The guy that was throwing last year is there. We've got to get him back. I have to be confident to continue to use him. "Our misfortune is giving us the opportunity to keep putting him in there. If we were a game back, it would be a lot harder." Kuo, who earns $2.725 million this season, has allowed eight earned runs on six hits over two innings for his last four appearances with seven walks and three strikeouts. His ERA, 1.20 last year, is more than 10 times higher this year at 12.46. He recently said he hadn't thought about whether he would play next year. For their part, the Dodgers might choose to non-tender Kuo rather than commit to paying him more than $3 million without knowing what production they can expect. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110801&content_id=22616356& notebook_id=22616358&vkey=notebook_la&c_id=la --

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