Kuroda, Dodgers Shut Down Brewers 2-0
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hiroki Kuroda outpitched former teammate Randy Wolf with his second straight scoreless outing, Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Milwaukee 3-0 on Tuesday night to snap the Brewers' four-game winning streak.
Kuroda (5-3) allowed six hits in 7 2/3 innings, struck out seven and walked three. It was the fifth time this season that the Dodgers won when scoring three runs or fewer -- including last Wednesday at Pittsburgh, when Kuroda pitched two-hit ball over seven innings in a 2-0 win.
The right-hander gave up an infield single by Rickie Weeks leading off the eighth, then was charged with his first balk in 557 1/3 innings since joining the big leagues in 2008. But Corey Hart and Ryan Braun both flied out, and Kenley Jansen retired Casey McGehee on a foul pop after walking slugger Prince Fielder.
Matt Guerrier pitched a perfect ninth for his first National League save and second of his career.
Wolf (3-4) threw 119 pitches over 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits with two strikeouts and a season-high four walks. The left-hander's departure was hastened by a 28-pitch first inning and a 30-pitch third inning.
Andre Ethier drew a two-out walk in the first and Kemp drove a 3-1 pitch the other way to right-field fence for his team-high eighth homer and second in 16 games.
Fielder came within a few feet of tying it in the sixth, hitting a drive to Kemp on the warning track in center field after Braun's leadoff single. Braun advanced to third on a fielder's choice and an uncontested stolen base, but was stranded when Yuniesky Betancourt took a called third strike.
Rookie Jerry Sands drove in the Dodgers' third run with a ninth-inning double, his eighth since being promoted April 18.
The Dodgers loaded the bases in the fourth with two walks and a two-out infield single to shortstop by Kuroda, who barely beat the throw by Betancourt after he charged the slow bouncer. But Wolf escaped the jam when Jamey Carroll grounded into a fielder's choice.
Kuroda pitched with two men on in three of the first four innings, but escaped unscathed each time. In the first, Kemp went to the wall in right-center to flag dwn McGehee's two-out drive with runners at the corners. In the fourth, Carlos Gomez grounded into an inning-ending double play after singles by Betancourt and Jonathan Lucroy.
Wolf hit his 32nd career double over Ethier's head in right field leading off the third, extending the Brewers' streak to 14 consecutive games with a two-base hit. But he was stranded at third when Braun struck out and Fielder flied out. The Brewers' top two run producers both came in batting over .300 with runners in scoring position.
Notes:
Kuroda was charged with only two balks in 1,700 1/3 innings over 11 seasons with Hiroshima of the Japanese League. ... A moment of silence was observed for Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, who died Tuesday at age 74. He played at Dodger Stadium in the 1965 World Series and homered against Don Drysdale in the Minnesota Twins' Game 3 loss. ... Brewers radio play-by-play man and ex-major leaguer Bob Uecker, who starred on the television sitcom "Mr. Belvedere" in the late 1980s, recalled the time Killebrew made a guest appearance. "The script of that particular show called for me to play a game against my son's Little League team," Uecker said. "So I went out and I got Harmon, Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Bench and Reggie Jackson. That was my team. And they all showed up. It's one of the pictures I have that when I look at it, I say: 'Geez, what a picture this is. They're all Hall of Famers."' Uecker also is enshrined at Cooperstown -- in the broadcasters' wing. ... Milwaukee placed LHP Mitch Stetter on the 15-day disabled list because of because of irritation in his left hip, making him the 11th player the team has put on the DL since the final week of spring training. They also designated RHP Sean Green for assignment and selected the contract of C Mike Rivera from Triple-A Nashville.
