In his first start since May 18, Hyun-Jin Ryu gave the Los Angeles Dodgers six strong innings of one-run baseball. It was squandered in some sense, as Dexter Fowler’s home run in the eighth proved the difference for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ryu’s efforts were largely matched by Carlos Martinez, who went eight strong innings. The Dodgers appeared poised to take the lead in the first inning, with Logan Forsythe drawing a leadoff walk and Corey Seager following with a base hit.
However, Martinez struck out Yasmani Grandal and induced Adrian Gonzalez into a double play to escape the jam. Ryu retired the first four batters faced before allowing a one-out single to Tommy Pham in the second inning.
Miscommunication in the Dodgers outfield allowed Pham to tag on a flyout to center field. That proved key as one out later Paul DeJong lined an RBI double over Chris Taylor’s head.
Martinez’s string of seven consecutive batters retired was snapped when he walked Cody Bellinger to start the fifth inning. But nothing came of it for the Dodgers.
Corey Seager’s walk in the sixth inning did spark a small rally. Grandal singled to right, putting runners at the corners, and Adrian Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly tied the game.
Ryu worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning to finish his outing by retiring seven batters in a row. Kiké Hernandez was stranded by pinch-hitter Austin Barnes after hitting a two-out double in the seventh.
Ross Stripling erased a one-out single in the bottom half of the inning by inducing a double play. However, he didn’t escape the eighth unharmed, as Fowler’s solo home run gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.
Martinez put an exclamation point on his strong outing by retiring the side in order by the eighth, including getting back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. Seung Hwan-Oh worked around a Gonzalez leadoff single and two-out walk in the ninth to earn a save.
The Dodgers’ winning streak was snapped at a season-best six games.
