The Dodgers nearly suffered their second shutout loss in as many weeks, managing to get a pair of late runs in the ninth inning but falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Saturday.
Roki Sasaki had a decent start in the first inning, getting his first two outs on eight pitches, but put two men on with two outs by walking Alex Burleson and allowing a single to Jordan Walker. A bookend strikeout of Nolan Gorman helped him get out of the inning unscathed. Sasaki needed just three pitches to get two outs in the bottom
of the second, but plunked Ramón Urías on a 1-1 count before walking Victor Scott II to once again put two on with two outs. Sasaki got another bookend strikeout— this time against J.J. Wetherhold— to strand the pair.
Once the Cardinals came to bat in the bottom of the third, Sasaki got ambushed early with a pair of doubles from Iván Herrera and Burleson to give St. Louis the early lead. Walker got to an inside slider from Sasaki and drilled a line drive that snuck over the left field wall to give the Cardinals a three-run lead. It was the eighth home run that Sasaki has allowed this season— tied for fifth most this season— and the fourth allowed over his last two starts. He would follow up that inning by retiring nine hitters in a row as he completed six full innings for the first time while tossing a career-high 104 pitches.
Sasaki has continued to display dominant results over the first two innings of his starts, as he has allowed just one run in innings 1 and 2 over his six starts, but he has allowed 18 runs after the start of the third inning, resulting in a 9.72 ERA from innings 3 and beyond this season. A positive note for Sasaki is that the walks have decreased dramatically, as he has walked just three hitters over his last 11 innings.
The Dodgers on offense were left stunned by the Cardinals defense as they couldn’t get anything going against Michael McGreevy. Will Smith hit into an inning-ending double play in the first inning, and the Dodgers couldn’t come through with two men on base and less than two outs in the second. The Dodgers were able to get the leadoff man on in the third with a bunt single from Alex Freeland, but Shohei Ohtani’s line drive was snared on a diving catch by Wetherholt, doubling up Freeland at first for another double play. The Cardinals would turn another pair of double plays to end both the top of the fourth and fifth innings.
The Dodgers managed to put multiple guys on base against Ryne Stanek in the top of the seventh, including their first hit since the third inning from Teoscar Hernández, but Andy Pages struck out swinging representing the tying run to get the Cardinals out of trouble. Jojo Romero followed Stanek with a perfect eighth inning, striking out both Miguel Rojas and Ohtani.
The Dodgers put up a two-out rally against closer Riley O’Brien as Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández reached on infield singles. Max Muncy lined a ball just over a leaping Wetherhold into right field to bring home Tucker and score the first Dodger run since the sixth inning on Friday. Pages kept the rally going with a base hit to left field to bring home Hernández, putting both the tying and go-ahead runs on base in a one-run game. Dalton Rushing came in to pinch hit, but went down swinging as the Cardinals took the series from the Dodgers and rattled off their sixth consecutive win.
In what has been an utterly brutal week for an anemic Dodgers offense, the team is averaging just 2.4 runs per game this week while recording just five extra-base hits— all doubles, no home runs— over that stretch. The Dodgers have performed miserably with runners on base this week, as they are hitting just .225 with runners in scoring position while leaving a combined 40 runners on base over their last five games. The Dodgers have now dropped four of their last five games against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium dating back to last season.
Game particulars
- Home runs— Jordan Walker (10)
- WP— Michael McGreevy (2-2): 6 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts
- LP— Roki Sasaki (1-3): 6 IP, 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
- SV— Riley O’Brien (9): 1 IP, 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
Up next
The Dodgers close out their series in St. Louis on Sunday (11:15 a.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before heading down to Houston for a three-game set against the Astros. Justin Wrobleski makes his fifth start while old friend Dustin May goes for the Cardinals.
