Yankees 6, Dodgers 4
NEW YORK -- Hiroki Kuroda won for the first time in six starts by working in and out trouble over 6 2/3 innings against his former team and the New York Yankees opened a day-night doubleheader with a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Kuroda (7-5), who made 115 appearances for the Dodgers in four seasons (2008-2011), allowed two runs and eight hits. He issued one walk and struck out two.
Kuroda won for the first time since he worked eight scoreless innings against Toronto on May 17, but the victory was not as easy this time out.
He allowed a hit in every inning but the fifth and sixth but held Los Angeles to one hit in its first 10 at-bats with men on base. Kuroda also was helped by several Los Angeles base-running mistakes.
In the first inning, Kuroda gave up a single by rookie Yasiel Puig, but center fielder Brett Gardner easily threw him out trying to go to second.
In the fourth, Kuroda allowed a single to Adrian Gonzalez and a double to Hanley Ramirez. That put runners at second and third, but Gonzalez strayed too far off third base as Andre Ethier lined out and was thrown out easily by Kuroda for a double play.
The seventh inning proved to be Kuroda's toughest. He loaded the bases on two singles and a walk before losing his shutout bid with a sacrifice fly by A.J. Ellis. Kuroda then gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Jerry Hairston Jr. and left the game. Shawn Kelley relieved and struck out Nick Punto swinging on a full count, avoiding an encounter against Puig with runners on.
The Yankees increased their lead with three runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Vernon Wells reached on two errors by Ronald Belisario, who misplayed a soft tapper back to the mound and was charged with a throwing error on the play as Jayson Nix scored. With the bases loaded, Ichiro Suzuki had a two-run single off Paco Rodriguez.
In the Dodgers' eighth, Preston Claiborne gave up a leadoff double to Puig and a two-run homer to Ramirez. David Robertston entered for the Yankees and issued consecutive walks to Ethier and Juan Uribe but got out of the inning.
Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth and capped his 25th save by striking out Puig.
Hyun-Jin Ryu (6-3) gave up three runs and five hits in six innings, losing for the first time in seven starts. He allowed a two-run double to Lyle Overbay in the second and a home run to Suzuki in the sixth.
NOTES: Los Angeles LHP Ted Lilly (neck sprain) is rehabbing and has resumed throwing. He could return soon but is not considered a candidate to start Sunday in San Diego. The Dodgers also announced that LHP Scott Elbert underwent Tommy John surgery on June 7. ... Uribe returned to the lineup after being scratched in the previous two games because of a back inury. ... Ramirez made his eighth career appearance as a designated hitter. ... The Yankees did not comment Wednesday on a report that Alex Rodriguez sought out Anthony Bosch, the former director of Biogenesis. According to a report in the Miami New Times, he was visited by Bosch when the team was in Detroit during last year's ALCS.
