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Kuroda, Dodgers douse Phillies

Aug 15, 2008 - 5:24 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Hiroki Kuroda outdueled Brett Myers as the Los Angeles Dodgers downed the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1, on Thursday to remain tied for first place in the National League West.

Kuroda (7-8) pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, allowing one run. He struck out seven. Hong-Chi Kuo pitched the last two innings for his first save to complete the Dodgers' first four-game sweep of the Phillies in 46 years.

"We are trying to build momentum," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "Kuroda could've gone longer in the game, but we had a chance to knock in another run, which is big against a lineup like the Phillies. Kuroda pitched a great game for us and kept a powerful offense off the scoreboard."

Myers (5-10) pitched seven innings, allowing three runs and five hits while striking out eight.

"We are busting our rear ends right now and not getting wins," Myers said. "I don't think I pitched well because I lost. You pitch well when you win and I'm not satisfied with any loss or any win for that matter. It's just frustrating."

The Phillies (64-57) fell a game behind the New York Mets (65-56), who defeated the Washington Nationals and took over sole possession of first place in the National League East.

"It was a tough series for our club," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We need to forget about this series and get ready to play better baseball this weekend."

The Dodgers, who are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks at 62-59, took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when James Loney tripled and scored on a groundout by Nomar Garciaparra.

They upped the margin to 2-0 in the sixth when Matt Kemp blast a homer to center field, his 14th.

"I'm just seeing the ball and getting into a good groove at the plate, so I'm just trying to make things happen," Kemp said. "The pitcher made a mistake pitch and I hit the mistake for a home run. Anytime we can sweep any team is a good thing, because it means we are playing good baseball."

The Phillies managed a run in the seventh as Jayson Werth doubled, took third on a groundout and came home on Ryan Howard's sacrifice fly to left field.

"We've got to see if there is heart left and we've got find out how to win games," Howard said. "We are not getting key hits right now and I have never seen that before from this team."

The Dodgers countered in the bottom half. Russell Martin singled, stole second and came home on a single by Casey Blake to left field.