MLB Spring Training 2012: Hiroki Kuroda Goes 3 Scoreless for New York Yankees

Hiroki Kuroda took the mound tonight for the second time this spring, following his rough outing against the Rays. He allowed three runs on three hits in two innings in his first start with the New York Yankees.

Tonight against the Astros, Kuroda greatly improved. He threw three scoreless innings, while striking out two. He walked two and allowed two hits.

Out of the 42 pitches he threw, 24 of them went for strikes.

After exiting the game with the game tied 0-0, Kuroda addressed the media in the clubhouse. Shockingly, he was not pleased with the results of his outing.

It was clear that Kuroda struggled to throw the ball over the plate, but it's hard to argue with three scoreless innings. Kuroda had this to say regarding his control:

“I don’t think I had all my stuff today. Nothing was really consistent. My two-seamer wasn’t there and my cutter wasn’t really cutting.”

Yankees fans should not be worried about the 37-year-old veteran, as it's still very early in the spring. Even if he doesn't improve throughout the rest of the month, the fans should be confident in his abilities.

After going 0-3 with a 5.88 ERA last spring with the Dodgers, Kuroda put together arguably the best season of his career.

Kuroda himself doesn't seem to be too worried, saying, "Usually, the first half of spring training is not really good. I start to warm up in the latter half."

His confidence should help to put Yankees fans at ease, as it doesn't seem as if his control issues will plague him in the upcoming season.

He should be a very reliable pitcher for the Yankees in 2012, and I'm sure fans are anxious to see him in regular season action.