Stults pitches Dodgers over hump

LOS ANGELES -- Eric Stults turned in his second career shutout. Center fielder Matt Kemp made three outstanding defensive plays. Juan Pierre finished with three RBIs.

There were plenty of stars in the Los Angeles Dodgers' first win since Manny Ramirez was suspended.

Stults, a former Las Vegas 51s left-hander, pitched a four-hitter and Pierre had three hits to help the Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 8-0 on Saturday.

"Obviously, shutouts are special -- and for me, it's like a no-hitter," Stults said. "I think I owe Matt Kemp some dinner. He ran down some balls today and made some great plays, especially in key situations with runners on base."

Juan Castro had three hits and drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who are 1-2 since Ramirez was banished for 50 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a banned drug.

Stults (4-1) threw 123 pitches while striking out five and walking none in his third start against the Giants this season. The 29-year-old left-hander also had an RBI single during the Dodgers' three-run eighth.

"I really wasn't thinking about pitch count. I was just trying to get outs," Stults said. "I didn't do that very well last time I faced them, so I was just trying to get contact early so I could work deeper into the game. You definitely know what their strengths and weaknesses are after facing them a couple of times."

Stults gave the Dodgers their first complete game of the season, going the distance for the second time in 20 career starts. His other complete game came June 25, when he beat the Chicago White Sox 5-0 at Dodger Stadium with a four-hitter and threw 116 pitches.

"We were going to (replace) him after eight innings because we figured that was enough, but we just gave him the option," manager Joe Torre said. "We were going to send him out there one man at a time, then we tagged on a few more runs and decided we were going to just shoot for the shutout."

Stults gave up a leadoff double to Edgar Renteria in the ninth. One out later, cleanup hitter Bengie Molina drove a ball to right-center and Kemp caught it on the dead run before his momentum sent him crashing to the ground.

"He's a highlight film," Torre said. "When I watched him last year, I thought right field was his best position -- and it may still be. But he's improved so much in center field, getting jumps off the ball."

Stults was forced to work out of another jam in the sixth, after three-time Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson misplayed a throw from third baseman Casey Blake on an attempted force play with two out. But Kemp raced toward the warning track to grab Randy Winn's flyball.

In the first inning, Kemp took an extra-base hit away from Winn before colliding with the fence.

"I just couldn't keep the ball away from Kemp," Winn said.