The Los Angeles Dodgers offense was quiet for most of their finale against the St. Louis Cardinals, but they rallied in the late innings to clinch a series win with a 5-4 victory.
Gavin stone made his first start of the season, and he looked strong overall. Stone started his day with an electric first inning as he struck out the side without allowing a baserunner.
With that, the Dodgers became the first team in the expansion era (since 1961) to have their starting pitcher strike out the side in a perfect first inning in three consecutive games. Bobby Miller started the streak and Yoshinobu Yamamoto continued it before Stone completed the trifecta.
Stone did run into some trouble in the third inning as Victor Scott II reached on an infield single. That was followed by a single from Masyn Winn, and another from Paul Goldschmidt to drive in the first run of the game.
Scott II again started a rally in the fifth inning when he doubled, and Winn bunted him over to third base. Brendan Donovan then doubled to put the Cardinals up 2-0.
Stone walked the first batter he faced in the sixth inning before he was taken out of the game. Alex Vesia took over and walked two batters to load the bases.
Vesia then hit Donovan with a pitch to bring in a run for the Cardinals, and Paul Goldschmidt brought in another run by reaching on catcher’s interference, giving the Cardinals a 4-0 lead.
Stone finished his outing going five-plus innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking one. His six strikeouts also set a new career-high for the young right-hander.
For the Cardinals, Steven Matz turned in a solid outing as well, throwing 5.1 innings while allowing two runs on five hits. He kept L.A. off the board for the first five innings of his outing.
The Dodgers scored their first run in the sixth inning with doubles from Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to three. L.A. ended up loading the bases, and they scored another run on a ground out from James Outman, making the score 4-2, but Gavin Lux flied out to end the threat with two runners on base.
Hernández inched the Dodgers closer with a solo home run in the ninth inning. It was his third with the club and first against a right-handed pitcher. Chris Taylor worked a walk and stole second base, and then Max Muncy gave the Dodgers the lead with a no-doubt two-run homer.
Nabil Crismatt also made his Dodgers debut after being activated prior to the game. He pitched two innings, giving up no runs while striking out three.
Daniel Hudson recorded the save in the ninth inning, his first of the season.
The Dodgers’ win came despite trailing 4-0, although that was a position they succeeded in last year. The Dodgers’ led the Majors in 2023 with eight wins when trailing by at least four runs.
What’s next for the Dodgers?
After wrapping up their four-game series with the Cardinals, the Dodgers host the San Francisco Giants for three games. James Paxton is set to face off against Keaton Winn in the first game, while Tyler Glasnow and Bobby Miller are expected to pitch the next two games.
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