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 Third baseman Matt Carpenter drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth
inning, lifting the Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the Dodgers
before a crowd of 44,649 at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.
Second baseman Kolten Wong's infield single scored pinch-runner Pete
Kozma to tie the score at 1 with one out in the eighth before
Carpenter followed with a sacrifice fly to right, bringing home
right fielder Jason Heyward with what proved to be the winning run.
The Cardinals (37-18), who own the best mark in the major leagues,
captured their fourth consecutive win and handed the Dodgers (31-24)
their fourth straight loss. Los Angeles has dropped four of five to
St. Louis this season.
Carlos Martinez defeated the Dodgers for the second time in the past
week. Martinez (6-2) recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts and
limited Los Angeles to a run on three hits with four walks in seven
innings. Last Sunday, Martinez blanked the Dodgers for seven innings
and struck out eight on a one-hitter in a 3-1 win by the Cardinals
in St. Louis.
"It was a little tough because they had a lot of lefties in the
lineup, so I tried to throw different (pitches), throw more sliders
than I usually do," said Martinez through an interpreter. "But
everything went fine."
Closer Trevor Rosenthal retired the side in order, fanning two, in
the ninth for his 18th save in 19 opportunities. Rosenthal has
pitched 14 1/3 scoreless innings.
Martinez's scoreless stretch reached 21 1/3 innings until he gave up
a run in the second inning. Martinez walked center fielder Joc
Pederson on five pitches with the bases loaded, scoring third
baseman Alberto Callaspo. However, he experienced little trouble
after that.
"He was controlling that slider for strikes, particularly with two
strikes," St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina said.
Martinez struck out five batters looking with off-speed pitches.
"He was also getting ahead with the fastball and using his off-speed
stuff." Molina said. "He was able to successfully do that tonight."
Molina said Martinez sometimes falls in love with his fastball,
which frequently reaches 96 to 98 miles per hour, but Molina
encouraged him to back off of it.
"He's a young guy; sometimes he gets excited," Molina said. "When
he's calm, he stays back (with the off-speed pitches) and controls
the fastball better."
After allowing a run, Martinez got out of the lone jam he incurred
by inducing shortstop Jimmy Rollins to line into an inning-ending
double play to keep the deficit to a run.
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"It was a little bit of a mess that could have turned out really
bad, but he made some good pitches and then he got a great defensive
play with (first baseman) Mark (Reynolds) starting the double play,"
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "That was really the only
inning he had a hiccup. We were watching how he was going about that
particular inning, and it was a little bit of overthrowing and
getting excited about his fastball.
"Just another good outing by him. That was quite a test."
It was the first run Martinez allowed since May 15, when he gave up
two to the Detroit Tigers.
Dodgers starter Brett Anderson (2-4) had another solid outing
against the Cardinals, but suffered defeat again. Anderson allowed
two runs on four hits in 7 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and
three walks. Anderson was the losing pitcher in the matchup Sunday,
when he also gave up two runs.
"He pitched really (well)," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.
"It's unfortunate that he ends up with (a loss)."
NOTES: Los Angeles RF Yasiel Puig homered and went 1-for-3 with a
walk in his second rehab game with Class A Rancho Cucamonga. ...
Dodgers 2B Howie Kendrick didn't play for the second game in a row.
Kendrick is nursing a sore knee. ... OF Scott Schebler was recalled
from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Schebler made his debut in LF. He was
1-for-3 at the plate, recording his first major league hit with a
single in the second inning. To make room for Schebler, LHP Daniel
Coulombe was sent to Oklahoma City. ... Cardinals OF Tommy Pham was
activated from the 60-day disabled list and optioned to Triple-A
Memphis. Pham suffered a strained left quadriceps muscle in March.
1B Matt Adams, who had surgery last Friday to repair his torn right
quadriceps, replaced Pham on the 60-day DL. ... Cardinals LHP Jaime
Garcia (1-2, 2.70 ERA) will face Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (4-3,
3.73 ERA) on Saturday.
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