Hirokiriffic

Or if you prefer, Kurodatastic!  Kuroutstanding!  Hirokupendous!  Whatever awkward, made up adjective you want to use to describe the effort of Hiroki Kuroda Friday night at the Ravine in LA's 3-0 win over the Cubs is fair game, as long as it translates into "top notch pitching performance."  Kuroda, who bookended his four hit, complete game effort with strikeouts and logged another nine in between, finally figured out a way to overcome the flagging run support the Dodgers have saddled him with all year.  Dominate the opposition.   Putting all he had into every pitch, something he said he made his style in Japan,  Kuroda escaped a jam in the fourth with a little help from the umps, and only got stronger from there, retiring the last 10 batters he saw, utilizing an unhittable slider to do the dirty work.  In the end, he had LA's first complete game shutout in nearly three seasons.  Chicago slugger Derrick Lee said later it was the best stuff he'd seen all year.   

Offensively, the Dodgers weren't exactly electric against Cubs starter Sean Gallagher, as the box score indicates.  A first inning double from Jeff Kent scored Delwyn Young, and two RBIs from backup backstop Danny Ardoin, the first on a ground out to short, the second on a squeeze play.  Essentially, they papercut the Cubs enough to get it done.  The only real fireworks with the Blue at the plate came when Kent was ejected in the fifth for arguing balls and strikes (explaining the photo at top left, with the vet all up in home plate ump Marty Foster's grill).