KUDOS FOR L.A.'S KUO WITH DODGERS' BULLPEN NEEDING HELP, ROOKIE LEFY DOES JOB IN WIN DODGERS 5, PHILLIES 3.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

PHILADELPHIA - Twenty-four hours after learning they will be without Eric Gagne for at least a few more weeks, the Dodgers went into battle with what was supposed to be a hollowed-out bullpen, a patchwork cast of untested, unproven neophytes whose job it is to find some way to get the game to de facto closer Danys Baez.

Hong-Chih Kuo found a shortcut.

The rookie left-hander took care of the seventh and eighth innings by mowing down six consecutive batters in relief of a solid Brett Tomko. Baez took care of the rest, pitching around a two-out double in the ninth to finish off the Dodgers' 5-3 victory over the still-winless Philadelphia Phillies in front of 25,518 on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Kuo began by retiring the switch-hitting Abraham Nunez on a harmless grounder to short. He then struck out Jimmy Rollins - who otherwise went 3 for 4 and now has a one-game hitting streak after seeing his previous streak end at 38 - and Aaron Rowand to end the inning. Kuo finished by setting down three of the league's most dangerous hitters in the eighth, blowing away Bobby Abreu and Chase Utley before retiring Pat Burrell on a sinking liner to right.

It was a giant leap forward from Kuo's only previous appearance, in Monday's season opener against Atlanta, when he recorded two quick outs before issuing back-to-back walks. Edgar Renteria had then greeted Yhency Brazoban with a two-run double, a pivotal moment in what became a one-run loss for the Dodgers.

That time, Kuo was admittedly tentative. This time, he was markedly more aggressive.

"The pitching coach told me if I threw my four-seam fastball more and got my location better, I would be all right," Kuo said. "That's what I tried to do."

Kuo had a spectacular spring training, allowing only one earned run while striking out 14 batters in 12 innings over 10 appearances.

"But what we saw (against Atlanta) wasn't what we had seen in spring training," pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said. "He went deep in every count that day, even to the guys he got out. We just talked to him about the need to be aggressive. We want him to do what he does best, and that's to throw a lot of four-seam fastballs and mix in that good slider."

Dodgers manager Grady Little is partial to relievers who can give him multiple innings. He made it clear coming out of camp that Kuo was more than a traditional, situational lefty. In keeping with that, Little used him to retire two switch-hitters (Nunez and Rollins), two right-handed hitters (Rowand and Burrell) and two lefties (Abreu and Utley).

Little was so determined to get two innings out of Kuo that he allowed him to come to the plate for the first time in his career in the eighth, when he struck out against Aaron Fultz. With shortstop Rafael Furcal having been scratched just before game time with a bruised right shin (he is day to day), Little was short a position player and thus couldn't employ a double-switch when Kuo entered the game with the pitcher's spot due to lead off the following inning.

Baez, who has saved both of the Dodgers' wins this season, saved 41 games for Tampa Bay last year. The Dodgers (2-2) also have Lance Carter, who had 26 saves for the Devil Rays in 2003, and Takashi Saito, who had as many as 27 saves in a season for the Yokohama Baystars.

All of which suggests that this year, the Dodgers can survive Gagne's extended absence - even if Kuo, Brazoban, Tim Hamulack and Franquelis Osoria are still unknown quantities.

"I think we're still learning them and how they attack each game," Honeycutt said.

Tomko (1-0) was superb in his Dodgers debut, partly because his teammates handed him a 5-0 lead after three innings against laughably ineffective Phillies right-hander Gavin Floyd (0-1). The big blows were James Loney's RBI triple in the first, Dioner Navarro's RBI double in the second and Bill Mueller's leadoff double in the third, which led to the final run. Mueller doubled twice and is hitting .500 (8 for 16).

Tomko gave up fourth-inning home runs to Burrell and Sal Fasano, but settled in and retired the final seven batters he faced.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) L.A.'s Jason Repko scores from second on an error as Phillies catcher Sal Fasano leaps for a throw.

(2) Dodgers Starter Brett Tomko gave up three runs in six innings to win in his debut with the team.

Rusty Kennedy/Associated Press

Box:

Dodgers vs. Philadelphia

- Tony Jackson