Saturday’s Game Report: Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2
By Rob Rains
For eight innings on Saturday night, the Cardinals’ formula for defeating the Dodgers was pretty simple:
Get six scoreless innings from starter Michael McGreevy.
Get another home run from Jordan Walker.
Play flawless defense, turning four double plays in the first five innings.
Keep Shohei Ohtani off the bases.
What wasn’t in that formula, however, was seeing the Dodgers mount a two-out rally with four consecutive hits in the ninth – matching their total from the first eight innings – that made the Cardinals’ sixth consecutive win a nailbiter.
With closer Riley O’Brien on the mound, the Dodgers got back-to-back infield singles that just eluded shortstop Masyn Winn; Max Muncy hit a line drive off the glove of a leaping JJ Wetherholt, and Andy Pages grounded a single between Ramon Urias and Winn.
Those hits cut the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2 with the tying and go-ahead runs on base but O’Brien ended that drama with a game-ending strikeout. The win improved their record to 20-13, the same record as the Dodgers.
Here is how Saturday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: All of the Cardinals runs came in the span of three batters in the third inning. Ivan Herrera and Alec Burleson hit back-to-back doubles and Walker launched his 10th homer of the year into the bleachers in left. It was Walker’s sixth consecutive hit in the first two games of the series and his seventh in a row overall but that streak was finally snapped when he flew out in the fifth … Over his last five games Walker has 11 hits and 11 RBIs … The Cardinals had only one hit and two baserunners after the third, a two-out walk to Herrera in the seventh and a two-out double by Winn, which just missed being a home run, in the ninth … The Cardinals had only six hits in the game, but four of them went for extra bases.
On the mound: McGreevy was the beneficiary of the four double plays, which let him pitch around three hits and three walks to earn his second win of the season … Ryne Stanek worked a scoreless seventh despite allowing a two-out single and a walk … JoJo Romero worked a 1-2-3 eighth, ending it by striking out Ohtani, before O’Brien took over for the ninth. He retired the first two batters he faced, then gave up the four hits in a row, before finally securing the win and his ninth save with a game-ending strikeout.
Key stat: Walker’s 10th homer came in his 122nd at-bat of the season. Over the 2024 and 2025 seasons combined, Walker hit 11 homers in 527 at-bats … The Cardinals did not have a player hit his 10th home run last year until June 19, when Willson Contreras reached double figures.
Worth noting: Ohtani was 0-of-4 and struck out twice and is 0-of-9 in the first two games of the series with three strikeouts. In his last five games in St. Louis since last year, he is 3-of-21 with two singles and a double … Top pitching prospect Liam Doyle had his best start of the season for Double A Springfield on Saturday night. He allowed one run on two hits and a walk over 4 1/3 innings at Northwest Arkansas while striking out five.
Up next: The Cardinals will send Dustin May to the mound on Sunday to try to complete the sweep of the three-game series, which would extend their winning streak to seven consecutive games.
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