Power Surge: Dodgers Use Long-Ball to Salvage Series

On a day after the Dodgers took two blows to the stomach, one from the injury to Hiroki Kuroda and the other from the back-to-back home runs that tied the game in the ninth, the Boys in Blue had a nice rebound.  Kuroda’s prognosis was better than expected, and he was released from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix.  The pitcher rejoined the team at their hotel, rested, then arrived at Chase Field where he remained in the clubhouse.  CT-scans were all negative, and Kuroda even expressed optimism towards throwing his normal bullpen session.  While his scheduled Thursday start is still in question, there is no doubt that Kuroda will fully recover.

Meanwhile, confident in their teammate’s health, the Dodgers pulverized the Diamondbacks 9-3, taking the finale of the three-game series.  Matt Kemp led the game off with a double, his first game this season in the leadoff slot, and Orlando Hudson followed with a bloop-single to left.  Andre Ethier then crushed an off-speed pitch for a home run, giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead before the first out could be recorded.  Randy Wolf cruised for seven innings, allowing only one base-hit and fanning 10, before hitting trouble in the eighth, and even helped his own cause with a two-run homer, his first of the year, and an RBI-double.  He collected three hits and scored three runs at day’s end.  Ethier went 4-for-5 with four RBI’s, and Orlando Hudson had two hits (one being a two-run blast), two runs scored, and two runs-batted-in.

Knuckleballer Charlie Haeger will make his Dodger-debut on Monday in the series opener against the Cardinals.  Chad Billingsley is scheduled to pitch Tuesday.