Landon Hernandez knew exactly what to give Harrison Kuroda for his birthday.

Hernandez singled home Kevin Macdonald with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning for the winning run, making Kuroda a winner as Hawaii defeated Washington 3-2 yesterday in the Dairy Queen Classic at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Kuroda (1-0) earned the first win of his career, allowing one hit in two shutout innings of relief.

Hawaii starter Nate Klein struck out eight in seven innings. Washington's Pierce Rankin tagged him for a solo homer in the first and David Bentrott added another solo shot in the third.

That's all the offense the Huskies (2-3) could manage against the Rainbows (3-3), who have not allowed more than five runs in a game this season.

“;Our pitching staff is throwing really well,”; Hernandez said. “;(Nate) had a lot of stuff going for him. He had his changeup working really well.”;

Macdonald tied the game at 2 in the sixth with a solo homer to left with two outs.

In the ninth, he led off with a single and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Christian Johnson. He took third on a wild pitch by Aaron West before Hernandez stroked a single to give Hawaii its third straight win.

“;I was just looking for a ball that I could elevate,”; Hernandez said. “;He threw a fastball up at my eyes and I swung at it, so I thought they would come back with something off-speed and I just tried to stay with it up the middle.”;

The Rainbows were outhit for the second game in a row, but once again managed to get their hits in timely fashion.

“;That's the way baseball is,”; Hernandez said. “;You've got to take advantage of the mistakes. You really don't need any hits to score runs.”;

Kolten Wong finished 2-for-4 with a run and Macdonald was 2-for-4 with the home run and two runs scored.

Hawaii only managed six hits against the Huskies. Washington starter Jorden Merry allowed an unearned run in five innings, walking two and striking out four. Wong led off the game with a single and stole second before scoring on a two-out error by Bentrott.

Other than the two home runs, the Huskies never had a runner reach third base.

Kuroda came on in the eighth and gave up a single to start, but retired the final six batters he faced.

In five innings this season, Kuroda has allowed two hits and no walks and hasn't given up a run.

“;I wasn't here when he could throw hard, but coaches say he was able to touch 90 at least,”; Hernandez said. “;Now as he gets older he's learning how to pitch more and this year he's just throwing strikes.”;

The Rainbows continue the four-game road trip with a game today against UC Santa Barbara before wrapping up the tournament tomorrow against Minnesota. Hawaii beat the Golden Gophers 6-2 on Thursday.