Kuroda silences Cubs' bats

LOS ANGELES -- Sure, a couple of walks came back to bite Cubs pitcher Sean Gallagher in the end.

But in the end, it really didn't matter because of what Gallagher's teammates were up against Friday night. Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda tossed his first major-league complete game, putting Cubs hitters to sleep during a 3-0 L.A. victory in front of 52,484 at Dodger Stadium.

"It was impressive," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, whose club managed just 4 hits while falling to 39-23. "We didn't get very many good swings off of him.

"We only had one inning, basically, where we mounted an offense. And he pitched himself out of a first-and-third situation, although I think our baserunner had beaten the throw to first base."

More on that later.

Gallagher came out throwing a good fastball and retired the first batter he faced before going 0-2 on Delwyn Young and walking him. Young scored on Jeff Kent's double.

In the fourth, Gallagher walked James Loney leading off, and Loney later scored on a bases-loaded groundout.

"That's what you've been taught since you were little," said Gallagher, who fell to 3-2 after his 5-inning performance. "Walks will come back to kill you later on, and both of my runs today happened because I walked (guys)."

The Cubs had their best chance to score in the fourth. Ryan Theriot led off with a single, then Derrek Lee hit the ball back at Kuroda, who knocked it down but committed a throwing error on the single, allowing Theriot to take third.

But Aramis Ramirez struck out before Fukudome grounded into a double play. First-base umpire Derryl Cousins called Fukudome out at first even though replays indicated he was safe.

"I think if you look at the replay, it showed that he did," Piniella said of Fukudome beating the throw. "But anyway, give the guy (Kuroda) credit for pitching an outstanding game. … We haven't gotten a close call in this series yet. Everything's gone against us."

Piniella said he was more than happy with the effort Gallagher gave despite the loss.

"I like the way he's pitched," the manager said. "I really have. He needs to continue to work on certain things and improve, but he's got a real nice arm and competes well. He's not intimidated by the situation at all. You've got to like a lot of things about this young man."

Piniella said he'd like Gallagher to improve on his breaking pitches. Gallagher says it's that and being better in situations.

"It's just coming down to the execution of pitches," he said. "I gave up a couple hits today, and they were off pitches I didn't execute very well. It's what it's coming down to now.

"I've just got to learn to be more consistent and start executing better."