Furcal doesn’t waste time

After sitting out nearly two weeks with a sore shoulder, Rafael Furcal needed only three at-bats to get back into the swing of things Tuesday, bouncing a double over the center-field fence in the Dodgers’ 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers.

“I’m feeling so good,” Furcal said. “My throwing is coming back. Everything is fine. I don’t feel behind at all.”

Furcal, who batted leadoff and played four flawless innings in the field, appeared to be pressing in his first two trips to the plate from the right side, grounding out to short both times. But in his third at-bat, hitting left-handed against right-hander Jason Grilli, Furcal hit a booming drive to the deepest part of Holman Stadium for a ground-rule double. Russell Martin followed with a double to bring Furcal home.

“The first two at-bats I saw the ball so good I tried to jump at it a little bit,” Furcal said. “The next at-bat I said let me take it easy a little bit. Make good contact. And that’s what I did.”

Manager Grady Little said he was happier with the swings than with the results.

“The main thing about it was he felt good with all his swings,” he said. “That’s what our No. 1 concern is.”

Take a break

Today is the Dodgers’ only scheduled off day this spring and Little intends to make sure his players observe it by locking the clubhouse to anyone who doesn’t need treatment from the training staff.

“They deserve a break,” he said. “And they’ll all get it.”

The lone exception will be left-hander Randy Wolf, who will throw up to 60 pitches in a minor league game on a back field. Wolf was in Philadelphia, along with catcher Mike Lieberthal, on Tuesday for the funeral of former Phillies coach John Vukovich. Little wants Wolf to pitch today to keep him working on his regular four days’ rest.

Little gave veteran Nomar Garciaparra and workaholic outfielder Juan Pierre extra time off by excusing them from Tuesday’s game.

Investigation continues

Although Major League Baseball continues to look into Hong-Chih Kuo’s failed drug test, the agent for the left-hander said his client already has been cleared by Taiwan’s Olympic Committee and the country’s baseball federation.

“It doesn’t matter. Kuo’s done nothing wrong,” Alan Chang said of the continuing investigation. “His name is cleared.”

Kuo tested positive for a banned stimulant in the run-up to December’s Asian Games in Qatar after taking what Chang said was a herbal cold remedy containing ginseng. Suspicions were raised when Kuo was benched for the gold-medal game against Japan but Chang said the Dodgers asked the 25-year-old to sit out when he complained of a sore arm after beating South Korea in a first-round game.

Kuo, who is competing for the final spot in the Dodgers’ rotation, has given up a run and two hits in six innings this spring.

Around the horn

Little said the second round of roster cuts will be made soon. The Dodgers still have 47 players in camp, including 22 pitchers.... Bullpen candidate Rudy Seanez worked a perfect inning for the fourth time in five appearances. In five innings the right-hander has allowed one runner to reach base.

*

kevin.baxter@latimes.com