The Los Angeles Dodgers continued to struggle on Tuesday night as they were walloped by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first game of their longest homestand of the second half.
After going 2-4 on their road trip to cap off what manager Dave Roberts deemed a “forgettable August,” the Dodgers didn’t receive a boost from entering the final month of the regular season that coincided with Will Smith, Dalton Rushing and Justin Wrobleski all returning from the injured list.
The 13 runs allowed tied a season high for the Dodgers.
Cardinals 13, Dodgers 8: key takeaways
Eric Lauer’s short start
Lauer’s shaky month of August carried into September as he allowed seven runs on eight hits in just three innings of work. Lauer surrendered two home runs, which came on back-to-back shots by Ramón Urías and Thomas Saggese in the second inning. St. Louis then exploded for five runs in the third behind small ball.
Saggese hit a second home run in the fifth inning to give him three this season.
Dodgers fans boo
Dodger Stadium attendance once again was sparse compared to the normal crowds, but those on hand voiced their displeasure at multiple points. One instance that prompted the fans to boo was after Leo Bernal’s two-run single put the Dodgers in a 5-0 deficit.
Mookie Betts produces
The Dodgers’ offense consisted mainly of Mookie Betts, who had xx RBI. Though, that included a gift as Betts’ fly ball to shallow right field dropped when Jordan Walker and José Fermín, allowing three runs to score.
Betts later had a traditional double in the fifth inning but it only drove in one run.
Will Smith back in lineup
Smith went 1-for-4 in his first game with the Dodgers since June 5. Smith was hitless through his first three at-bats before lining an RBI double into the left-center field gap in the seventh inning.
Smith is going to be out of the lineup on Wednesday before returning for the series finale against the Cardinals.
NL standings
Despite their loss, the Dodgers still remain in the No. 2 seed in the National League postseason bracket. They received help from the Washington Nationals defeating the Atlanta Braves, keeping the Dodgers a half-game ahead.
The Braves hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Dodgers.
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