Hiroki Kuroda cruised through six innings while the offense rallied for five runs in the first in a 7-2 win over the Phillies to move the series to 2-1.
Manny Ramirez again triggered the offense in the first, driving in the first Dodger run with an RBI-single before Casey Blake followed up with the same to make it 2-0. The bases were then loaded with two outs for Blake DeWitt, who blasted a triple to the right field corner to clear the bases and give the Dodgers a quick 5-0 lead. Phillies got on board in the second but Rafael Furcal answered back with a solo homerun that same inning. Nomar also drove a run in in the fourth in his first start of the postseason to make it 7-1.
Kuroda picked up the win after giving up two runs on five hits in six-plus innings. He gave up a run in the second but still had a four-run lead after the offense’s big first inning rally. Kuroda hurled a pitch behind the head of Shane Victorino in the third, after an inside pitch to Russell Martin in the first, that cleared the benches and was close to being a brawl but ended up just having both pitchers warned. Kuroda started to tire in the seventh, giving up a run and leaving two men on for Cory Wade, who got out of the inning and tossed the eighth before Broxton got some work in the ninth.
The Dodgers have a chance to even up the series tonight, with Derek Lowe taking the mound on three days’ rest to face Joe Blanton. Lowe is 2-1 with a 5.09 ERA lifetime on three days’ rest, and is 4-1 lifetime against the Phillies. Blanton went 9-12 in the regular season and is 1-0 with a 3.32 ERA in three career starts against the Dodgers.
