Another day, another great MLB debut. Hideki Kuroda threw just 77 pitches, for the most part only using his fastball and slider, to pick up his first major league win as the Dodgers thumped the Padres 7-1. Here are some looks from various news sources covering his debut.

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

Kuroda, meantime, needed only 77 pitches to work seven innings in his American debut since signing a three-year deal for $33 million. Five times in all, the Padres put a first pitch into play for an out. The only run Kuroda allowed came when Brian Giles rifled a 2-0 fastball for a home run to right field, tying the score in the sixth. Giles said the right-hander, 33, has two pauses, one early in his delivery and another after he raises his leg, that made him “very deceptive” but that his lively fastball will pose problems even after hitters see more of him.

From MLB.com:

Little commotion, much confirmation. Just bringing it, without the buzz. He stood out on the mound, yet almost blended into the woodwork. He made the loudest statement by not raising a big fuss.
Hiroki Kuroda’s Major League debut Friday night, for the Dodgers against the Padres, was nearly a win-yawn situation.

He was phenomenal, throttling the Padres and slowing general manager Ned Colletti’s pulse. In seven innings, he allowed three baserunners — and, true to his reputation for intolerance, fumed over the third, a single with two outs in the seventh inning of a game he led 7-1. He had only two three-ball counts, while throwing 53 of his 77 pitches for strikes.

LA Times:

“That it would be this easy . . .” Kuroda started to say before catching himself. “I mean, not easy. . . . I just didn’t think I would be able to win so soon.”

From The Press Enterprise:

“The umpire (Tim Tschida) was like, ‘Man, he hasn’t really missed a spot all game,’ ” Martin said.

San Gabriel Valley Tribune:

With one out and Blake DeWitt on first, Kuroda stepped to the plate for the sole purpose of bunting DeWitt to second. But Padres reliever Joe Thatcher, who had just entered the game because the Dodgers had worked Germano for a staggering 107 pitches over six innings, was having none of it. Rather than accept the gift out Kuroda was trying to give him, Thatcher walked him on five pitches, the second of three consecutive free passes issued by a second-year reliever who walked just six batters in 21 innings as a rookie last season.