Tuesday’s Game Report: Cardinals 4, Dodgers 0
By Rob Rains
Yadier Molina lost an RBI in the first inning Tuesday night when a video review determined his double had bounced over the wall, forcing the runner to go back to third.
When he came up for his next at-bat in the third, Molina made certain that didn’t happen again.
This time his second double of the night did produce two runs, and his three RBIs sent the Cardinals to the win over the Dodgers at Busch Stadium, moving above .500 for the first time this season.
It was Molina’s third multiple-hit game out of the last four games. He had only driven in one run in his first 10 games.
Molina has caught all but one of the Cardinals 99 innings through the first 11 games, the 11th inning of a game in Pittsburgh where he played third base after Matt Carpenter was ejected and the Cardinals were out of position players.
Backup catcher Matt Wieters is expected to give Molina his first day off of the season either Wednesday night or in Thursday’s day game.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals’ other run came on a home run by Paul Goldschmidt in the fifth. Goldschmidt has eight hits this season and six of them are home runs. He is now 2-of-24 in his last seven games, both hits being home runs but he also has drawn seven walks over that stretch … He is the third Cardinal in team history to hit six homers in the first 11 games of the season or less, according to researcher Tom Orf. The others were Lou Brock in 1967 (who did it in his first seven games) and Ken Boyer in 1960 (10 games) … Paul DeJong had a pair of doubles, extending his hitting streak to a career-high 10 consecutive games … DeJong also drew a pair of walks and had his first stolen base. DeJong had walked only once in his first 46 plate appearances this season … The Cardinals had only one single in the game, from Dexter Fowler, to go with the four doubles and home run.
On the mound: Six pitchers combined on the shutout, something the Cardinals did once last season. The Dodgers stranded 13 runners, leaving the bases loaded in both the fourth and fifth innings … Starter Dakota Hudson came out with the bases loaded in the fifth, one out shy of qualifying for the win … Hudson was the third starter in a row to throw exactly 100 pitches in his start … John Brebbia, John Gant, Mike Mayers, Andrew Miller and Dominic Leone combined to record the final 13 outs.
Key stat: After getting out of the two-out, bases loaded jam he inherited from Hudson in the fifth with a strikeout, Brebbia pitched around a leadoff walk in the sixth. In his five appearances to start this season, covering 7 2/3 innings, Brebbia has retired 23 of the 28 batters he has faced.
Worth noting: The Double A Springfield Cardinals faced a rehabbing Clayton Kershaw on Tuesday night in Tulsa and it was a big night for Kramer Robertson and Dylan Carlson, both of whom homered off the Dodgers’ ace during his sixth and final inning … Luke Gregerson made his third rehab appearance for Palm Beach Tuesday night, starting the game and throwing a scoreless inning … The Kansas City Royals, who traded for Rule 5 draft pick Chris Ellis with Texas, announced Tuesday they were returning him to the Cardinals. It has not been determined if Ellis will be joining Memphis or Springfield.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals will be trying for their fourth consecutive win on Wednesday night behind Jack Flaherty, making his third start of the season.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
POST-GAME AUDIO
Mike Shildt, Yadier Molina, John Brebbia, Dakota Hudson, Paul Dejong
