After playing to a split in a four-game set against the New York Mets, ending the series on a high note behind Clayton Kershaw’s complete-game shutout.
The Los Angeles Dodgers then welcomed another recent postseason nemesis to Chavez Ravine in the St. Louis Cardinals. Ross Stripling earned his first career Major League win on Friday, and collected his first hit in the Majors.
Stripling’s victory came at the expense of his former Texas A&M teammate and roommate Michael Wacha. Scott Kazmir helped the Dodgers build on some of their momentum by turning in 8.2 strong innings on Saturday.
Although Kazmir allowed a two-run homer in the ninth that required Kenley Jansen to enter for the save, he largely kept the Cardinals at bay, managing to limit earlier damage by working himself out of trouble.
The Dodgers offense did its part to help their left-hander, taking a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, and breaking a 1-1 tie by scoring three runs in the fifth. Still leading 4-1 in the seventh inning, Corey Seager provided some insurance with a solo home run to center field:
The homer was Seager’s fourth this season, and second off a left-hander. He’s now batting .283/.342/.457 with 10 doubles, one triple, four home runs and 18 RBIs over 36 games (32 starts).
Seager has been particularly impressive over the past seven days, hitting .391/.391/.739 with two doubles, two home runs and four RBIs in six games (five starts). He’s had multiple hits in five games over that stretch.
Seager’s three-hit game on Saturday night matched a season high. With their first three-game winning streak since mid-April in hand, the Dodgers look to sweep the Cardinals in ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball game of the week.
