Adam Wainwright turned in a vintage performance in just his second start since returning from the 60-day disabled list and sixth overall this season, helping the St. Louis Cardinals stave off a four-game sweep with a 5-0 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After hitting a combined five home runs in two consecutive games, Yasiel Puig went hitless in four at-bats. Additionally, the Dodgers saw their home run streak end at 23 games.
While they broke the previous Los Angeles franchise record (17), they fell short of tying or breaking the all-time Dodgers mark set by the 1953 Brooklyn team (24).
Wainwright didn’t allow a runner past second base, with only Justin Turner reaching scoring position on his one-out double in the first inning. The hit was one of just two that the Dodgers managed to get off the veteran right-hander.
Wainwright kept batters off balance with a curveball that factored heavily into him recording nine strikeouts over six innings. His strikeouts and 101 pitches both are season-highs and Wainwright’s most since April 21, 2017 and July 22 of last year (107 pitches).
While he pitched well, it wasn’t until the sixth inning that Wainwright retired the Dodgers in order.
Ross Stripling was knocked around a bit in his first start since being re-inserted into the rotation to close out the season. Though, still building up his arm, Stripling threw 72 pitches in 3.1 innings.
He allowed three runs, with the first coming on a solo home run hit by Marcell Ozuna to lead off the second inning. Singles by Paul DeJong and Jedd Gyorko led to a run in the fourth, and Yadier Molina drove in another with his base hit that also knocked Stripling out of the game.
St. Louis added to their lead in the sixth inning when Kenta Maeda induced a chopper that was a potential double-play ball but it got by Turner, giving Molina his second RBI on the night.
With the loss, the Dodgers will head into Monday’s series trailing the Colorado Rockies by a half-game for first place in the National League West. Moreover, they again are even with the Cardinals for the second NL Wild Card spot.
Because St. Louis won four of the seven head-to-head meetings, they own the tiebreaker and would host Los Angeles in a one-game playoff in the event of a tie in the NL Wild Card standings.
