A matchup of teams that both had won eight of their last 10 games turned into a slugfest that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers ultimately fall well short in a 16-8 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Initially it was Adam Wainwright who struggled, as he gave up a leadoff double to Mookie Betts and proceeded to walk Will Smith and Max Muncy to load the bases. J.D. Martinez took advantage by driving a two-run double to the gap.
However, as Wainwright largely settled in from there, the Cardinals got to Julio Urías in a six-run third inning.
A leadoff double and one-out walk put two on for Willson Contreras, who provided the Cardinals with a lead by hitting a three-run homer. Urías followed that by retiring Nolan Arenado, only for pinch-hitter Juan Yepez, Nolan Gorman and Paul DeJong to combine for back-to-back-to-back home runs.
It marked Urías’ fifth time in 10 starts this season with multiple home runs allowed. It additionally increased his season total to 14 homers given up, tying with Kansas City Royals’ Jordan Lyles for most in the Majors.
Urías only pitched three innings in what was the fourth consecutive game a Dodgers starter only went four or fewer.
Phil Bickford took over for his first appearance since throwing a career-high 48 pitches over three innings, and was unable to shut off the Cardinals’ momentum. A successful double steal by runners at the corners extended the Cardinals’ lead, and Nolan Arenado’s two-run homer then broke the game open at 9-2.
Andre Jackson, who was recalled along with Justin Bruihl, was next out of the Dodgers bullpen, and he initially retired nine of 10 batters faced to get through three scoreless innings.
Jackson’s effort allowed the Dodgers to mount a furious rally behind a five-run sixth inning. It was aided by Goldschmidt’s two-out error that left runners at the corners rather than ending the top of the sixth.
Miguel Rojas immediately took advantage with an RBI single, and after Trayce Thompson walked to load the bases, Freddie Freeman hit a grand slam. That gave Freeman 300 career home runs, becoming the 155th player in MLB history to reach the milestone.
Freeman joined Duke Snider (1957), Gil Hodges (1958), Gary Sheffield (2001) and Adrián González (2016) as players to hit a 300th career home run while with the Dodgers.
Max Muncy added a solo shot in the seventh to get L.A. to within a run.
The comeback bid stalled from there, and the Dodgers attempting to get a fourth inning out of Jackson backfired. He gave up an RBI single before giving way to Yency Almonte, who allowed another run to score on a wild pitch and subsequent three-run and two-run homers.
The Cardinals’ seven home runs were their most in a home game since 1940 against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Dodgers biggest comeback
The largest comeback in Dodgers franchise history is eight runs, set on May 18, 1950. They trailed 8-0 but rallied to win 9-8 against the Cardinals.
The last time the Dodgers overcame a seven-run deficit was in 1938.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
