Cards' late long balls beat Dodgers, Jansen

[August 21, 2018]  Jedd Gyorko and Matt Carpenter hit back-to-back home runs to open the ninth inning as the visiting St. Louis Cardinals continued their hot August with a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jose Martinez drove in a pair of runs and rookie starter Austin Gomber went five strong innings as the Cardinals improved to a National League-best 15-4 in August. St. Louis is now 22-11 under interim manager Mike Shildt, who took over after Mike Matheny was fired in July.

The Cardinals' ninth-inning home runs came off Kenley Jansen (0-4), spoiling the return of the Dodgers' closer, who went on the disabled list Aug. 10 because of an irregular heartbeat. Gyorko hit his 11th home run, while Carpenter hit his NL-leading 34th.

Max Muncy had a game-tying, pinch-hit single in the seventh inning for the Dodgers, and Manny Machado had a run-scoring single in the fifth, giving him an RBIs in four of the team's past six games.

The Dodgers fell to 8-10 in August, a stretch that has seen them fall from first place to third in the NL West.

Martinez hit a home run in the first inning, his 15th, and added an RBI single in the fifth to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead. Patrick Wisdom had a bases-loaded walk in the fifth for the Cardinals.

Gomber gave up two runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his five career starts. Brett Cecil (1-1) recorded one out in the eighth to pick up the victory, and Bud Norris struck out three in the ninth inning for his 25th save.

The victory moved the Cardinals into a three-way tie for the second NL wild-card spot with the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies. All three clubs are half-game behind the team holding the top NL wild-card position, the Milwaukee Brewers.

Justin Turner had two hits for the Dodgers to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest active hitting streak in the major leagues.

Los Angeles starter Alex Wood lasted just four innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts. It was just the third time in Wood's past 12 starts that the left-hander has given up more than two earned runs.

--Field Level Media

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