SYDNEY, Australia -- Opening day turned out to be a pretty gday for the Los Angeles Dodgers and ace Clayton Kershaw. Rob Francois Womens Jersey. Kershaw flashed his Cy Young form, Scott Van Slyke homered and the NL West champions opened the Major League Baseball season with a 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night at Sydney Cricket Ground. A crowd of about 40,000 watched as MLB played its first regular-season game in Australia. Kershaw, who signed a seven-year, US$215 million contract in January, allowed one run and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. Van Slyke hit a two-run homer and also doubled. The first pitch was delayed because of rain for 14 minutes. By then, the long trip Down Under had taken even longer for some Arizona players. A team bus had a flat tire, and the Diamondbacks said "a handful" of players decided to walk the last half-mile to the stadium instead of waiting for a replacement bus. Kershaw was impressive while making his fourth consecutive opening-day start. He struck out seven, walked one and was pulled by manager Don Mattingly after throwing his 102nd pitch. Quite a turnaround from spring training, when the two-time NL Cy Young winner went 0-3 with a 9.20 ERA in four starts. "Sometimes you just need the adrenaline of a regular-season game, and I just kind of feel relieved to get this one under my belt," he said. "Its always good to get results, obviously," he said. "This one counted." In his previous opening-day starts, Kershaw was 2-0 with 19 strikeouts in 19 scoreless innings. "Kershaw did a good job keeping us in the middle of the diamond," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "He threw a good ball game against us. We know theyre always going to be close." Three relievers kept the Diamondbacks scoreless with hitless work. Chris Perez, a five-time all-star with Cleveland before joining the Dodgers in the off-season, got the last out in the seventh. Brian Wilson pitched the eighth and closer Kenley Jansen got the save. Jansen walked a batter before getting Gerardo Parra to ground out to end the game. "Clayton was really good, kind of as always ... kind of doing his thing," Mattingly said. "Hes a tough guy to take out of the game, he always wants to stay in. And I thought our bullpen was really good tonight. Chris comes in and gets a big out for us there and Wilson did a good job and Jansen in closing the door." There were plenty of Dodgers and Diamondbacks uniforms in the crowd, some worn by American visitors and others by Australians who had flown across the country to watch the opener and Sundays second game, when another capacity crowd was expected. They feasted on baseball-style treats like nachos stuffed in batting helmets and Cracker Jack, which is not usually sold in Australia. If you could afford the cost and the calories, a two-foot-long hot dog sold for $36. Kershaw ran like hed eaten one of those hot dogs when he tried to stretch a one-out single in the seventh into a double, but was easily thrown out at second by left fielder Mark Trumbo. "My baserunning needs some work," Kershaw said, laughing. "I almost stopped at first base and then went to second, and that hesitation probably killed me. Im not that fast, so I need all the help I can get. Fortunately, it didnt hurt us very much." Van Slyke, playing because of an injury to Matt Kemp and paternity leave to Carl Crawford, nearly cleared the left-field fence in the second inning. His double set up a grounder by Andre Ethier that scored Adrian Gonzalez with the Dodgers first run. In his next at-bat in the fourth, Van Slyke connected off losing pitcher Wade Miley for a drive over the right-field fence -- just inside the foul pole -- with Gonzalez again on base to put the Dodgers up 3-0. "I thought that it was either going to be a foul or caught," Van Slyke said. "I didnt think it had a chance to go out. I felt more relaxed and had a little more energy and focus than I did in the exhibition games." Sydney Cricket Ground was refurbished two weeks ago to create the baseball diamond and an outfield with an 8-foot wall. It was 328 feet down the foul lines and 400 feet to straightaway centre. Miley, who came out for a pinch hitter in the fifth, got the opening day assignment because of a left elbow injury to Diamondbacks ace Patrick Corbin. Miley gave up three runs and three hits, striking out eight with two walks. Both teams finished with five hits. The Diamondbacks scored in the sixth after a double by Paul Goldschmidt, who had two hits. He moved to third on Kershaws wild pitch and scored on Trumbos infield out. The Diamondbacks were shut out 5-0 in an exhibition game Friday by Team Australia when they stranded 11 runners. A series of thunderstorms but little rain around the stadium about two hours ahead of the start cut short the Dodgers batting practice and tarp was rolled on to the field. That caused the start of the game to be delayed and cancelled the pre-game ceremonies. NOTES: Dodgers SS Hanley Ramirez gingerly walked off the field early in the game and may have tweaked a troublesome hamstring. He stayed in the game. ... LA leadoff man Yasiel Puig was hitless in five at-bats, including three strikeouts. ... On Sunday, South Korean lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, moved up in the Dodgers rotation because Zack Greinke injury his right calf, faces the Diamondbacks Trevor Cahill in the afternoon finale. ... The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Sydney Swans Aussie rules football star Adam Goodes, picked as Australian of the year this season. It was a very off-speed strike. ... Arizonas Aaron Hill had an infield single for the first hit of the season. Mike Neal Jersey . -- Scott Kosmachuk scored four times and added an assist as the Guelph Storm downed the visiting Ottawa 67s 7-3 on Sunday afternoon in Ontario Hockey League play.Johnathan Franklin Womens Jersey . The (33-33-9) Jets have 75 points and trail Phoenix by nine points for a Western Conference Wild Card playoff spot. Ondrej Pavelec will start in goal. Jets Projected Lines: Ladd-Little-Frolik Byfuglien-Jokinen-Wheeler Kane-ODell-Halischuk Tangradi-Slater-Peluso Enstrom-Postma Stuart-Trouba Pardy-Redmond Michael Hutchinson will be Pavelecs back up tonight.SONOMA, Calif. -- Ryan Hunter-Reay wished Danica Patrick well and believes his Andretti Autosport teammate will do fine as she makes the jump to the NASCAR circuit. Hunter-Reay also said Thursday that having Patrick race in IndyCar for the past seven years provided a marketing boost but that he is confident the series will do well even without one of its most recognizable drivers. "I dont think IndyCars growth and health rises and falls with Danica," Hunter-Reay told The Associated Press. "Certainly Danica has a massive following, and rightfully so. Shes respected by all of the drivers here. "But if were relying on Danica for the health of the series, weve got bigger problems on our hands, which is not the case." Patrick announced Thursday that she is leaving open-wheel competition to race a full Nationwide season and a part-time Sprint Cup schedule in 2012. The move had been expected for some time and didnt catch many drivers by surprise. Patrick has spent the past two seasons running a split series between IndyCar and the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Speaking before Fridays practice session at Infineon Raceway, Patrick didnt rule out possibly returning to IndyCar to race in the Indianapolis 500. "Ive said I love Indy and Id like to keep doing it but were not clear on whats possible for that in the future," Patrick said. "Its something were keeping in mind to try for." A day after making her decision to leave the IndyCar series public, Patrick looked and sounded very relaxed. She repeatedly flashed her familiar smile and joked with reporters during a 30-minute interview session. "Mostly Im just relieved that its out there and I can talk about it," Patrick said. "The truths out there. I dont feel trapped behind the secrets and the deals behind the curtains that nobody can really know about yet. I just had to really think about what was going to make me the happiest where I wanted to race." Hunter-Reay, whose controversial win Aug. 14 at New Hampshire was upheld by an appeals panel earlier this week, pointed to changes IndyCar is making for his optimistic outlook. IndyCars will have a newer, liighter chassis in 2012, while Chevrolet and Lotus are joining Honda in producing the 2. Nick Perry Womens Jersey. .2 V-6 engines the cars will use. "Our product is on the track racing," Hunter-Reay said. "Next year with the new cars, and GM, Honda and Lotus going head to head, weve got a lot of momentum." Will Power, second in points behind Dario Franchitti, agreed. "At the end of the day IndyCar is what made Danica," Power said. "She does bring a lot of publicity now but its IndyCar that originally got her into this position. The decision to go to NASCAR wasnt a surprise at all. She was offered more money to go there, so its as simple as that." Patrick has had mixed success since her arrival on the IndyCar circuit as a virtual unknown in 2005. That same year Patrick became the first woman to lead at the Indy 500 -- she finished fourth -- then won her first IndyCar race in 2008. Her best season came the following year when Patrick finished fifth overall. Heading into this weekends Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, Patrick is 12th in points. Franchitti, who clocked the fastest time during Fridays qualifying at Infineon Raceway, has been a longtime friend of Patricks. Like most drivers, he had been expecting her to make the switch to NASCAR for a while. "Her results (in IndyCar) had not been what she had hoped and I could see her getting frustrated because of that," Franchitti said. "Shes gone a direction she feels is better for her, and good for her. Ill miss having her around as a friend at the track. "Certainly in the Nationwide Series I think shell do a very good job there. Ill be watching with interest." Patrick, who emphatically denied that she was making the move because of the money, doesnt think IndyCar will suffer much without her. "The car count is up and the competition level is definitely up," she said. "(IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard) has brought some fresh ideas and approaches to the IndyCar series, and as Ive said over the last few years things are really on the up and up. It doesnt change how I feel and what I want to do ... but I think IndyCar is still going up." ' ' '
