Kuroda guts out needed win for Yanks

Hiroki Kuroda's struggles continued on Friday, though unlike teammate Ivan Nova the night before, the

veteran right hander was able to grind his way to a victory.

Kuroda allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits and two walks while striking out four

batters. He gave up five hits -- including three doubles -- and issued a walk during the first two innings,

but he got some help from his defense and made a few key pitches to keep Toronto off the scoreboard.

"I thought he did a really good job for us," manager Joe Girardi said. "When you don't have your best

stuff and you can win games, that says a lot about you. Those are the games when you have to find a way to

win."

Kuroda had posted a 5.29 ERA over his past five starts, prompting pitching coach Larry Rothschild to

suggest he skip his between-start bullpen session. Kuroda was frustrated with the lack of crispness on his

pitches Friday, but he was pleased to do what was necessary to pick up his 15th victory, a career high.

"I had to grind out there," Kuroda said through a translator. "I tried to minimize all the damage, I was

able to go through five-plus innings and I was happy that our team won today.

"Last time I pitched and today also, the movement on my fastball wasn't really there. The movement on

all my pitches wasn't really there. That's something I have to work on for my next start."