A Dodgers public relations official came into the Angels clubhouse Saturday afternoon looking for a game ball to give to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who wanted a memento from a 6-3 interleague victory that turned into an international event.
South Korean right-hander Chan Ho Park threw four innings, giving up two runs and three hits, before handing the ball to Taiwanese left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo, who threw four scoreless innings before giving way to Japanese closer Takashi Saito, who pitched the ninth.
It is believed to be the first time in major league history that pitchers from three different Asian countries appeared in the same game for the same team.
"The chances are, it's going to happen again," Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said. "But it definitely wasn't by design."
What ever is with the Dodgers these days? Torre has juggled his lineup virtually every day in an effort to find some combination that clicks, and Park was the third different starter Torre has used in the fifth spot of the rotation.
Park, a long reliever who hadn't started since April 30, 2007, with the New York Mets, didn't get the win, but he gave the Dodgers a chance to win despite needing 82 pitches to get through four innings on a steamy, 98-degree afternoon.
After giving up a leadoff double to Garret Anderson in the second inning, Park struck out two of the next three batters to escape the jam.
He took a 4-0 lead into the fourth, thanks to Blake DeWitt's two-run homer in the second and run-scoring singles by Andre Ethier and Russell Martin in the third, hits that helped send Angels right-hander Ervin Santana (6-1) to his first loss.
The Angels capitalized on a Dodgers error to score twice in the fourth, as first baseman James Loney threw Casey Kotchman's potential double-play grounder into left field, but Park got Erick Aybar to ground to second with the bases loaded, ending the inning.
"He did a great job," Torre said of Park. "That one inning, he had to get too many outs. We gave them too many opportunities. I'm just glad we were able to hold it together."
Kuo, who had three starts in the fifth spot, relieved Park to start the fifth and gave up three hits, struck out four and walked none over the next four innings to gain the victory and improve to 3-1.
"That was huge," Torre said. "First off, you don't have to go down to that bullpen and keep guys warming up all the time. . . . When he throws strikes with the stuff he has, he's going to get a lot of people out."
