LA Dodgers 5, St. Louis 1
When: 7:15 PM ET, Saturday, May 30, 2015
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
Temperature:
70°
Umpires:
Home -
Marcus Pattillo, 1B -
Marty Foster, 2B -
Mike Muchlinski, 3B -
Mike Winters
Attendance:
44754
By The Sports Xchange
ST. LOUIS -- Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly didn't even think about his team's dubious run at history until it was brought up to him before Friday night's 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
That was the fourth straight road game in which his team was blanked, and it started Saturday night's rain-delayed game by setting a franchise record with 42 straight scoreless road innings.
But just when it seemed it was not only on the verge of tying a major league record and getting no-hit in one fell swoop, Los Angeles suddenly remembered how to score runs while wearing gray uniforms.
Reaching previously unbeaten Michael Wacha for four sixth-inning runs, the Dodgers posted a 5-1 win at soggy Busch Stadium.
"It was a relief to score," Mattingly said. "We battled. The key was Carlos."
That would be Los Angeles starter Carlos Frias (4-2), who gave up five hits and an unearned run in seven solid innings, walking two and fanning three.
The lone run, which scored on a broken-bat RBI groundout by shortstop Jhonny Peralta in the first inning, looked large as Wacha steamrolled his way through 5 1/3 no-hit innings. Looking for an 8-0 start, Wacha whiffed seven and allowed just one hard-hit ball through the first 19 batters.
But Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner ended the no-hit portion of the festivities with a double off the right field wall.
First baseman Adrian Gonzalez was plunked on the 12th pitch of his plate appearance and second baseman Howie Kendrick tied it with an RBI single, preventing the Dodgers from joining the 1985 Atlanta Braves as the only team to suffer five straight road shutouts.
Catcher Yasmani Grandal chased Wacha on his 112th pitch, a 3-1 fastball that Grandal launched 435 feet to the bleachers in left-center field for his fifth homer of the season and a 4-1 Los Angeles lead.
Wacha gave up four runs, three hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings, absorbing his first regular-season loss since September.
"He had great stuff all night long," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "Some deep counts ran up his pitch count pretty high."
Meanwhile, Frias did a 180-degree turn from the pitcher who was destroyed for 10 runs in four-plus innings Sunday by San Diego. Relying heavily on a sinker, Frias got a dozen outs via grounders, including three double plays.
"I'm not a strikeout pitcher," Frias said. "I'm focusing on getting those guys out on three pitches or less."
Mattingly said he wasn't worried about Frias losing confidence after his disastrous outing against the Padres.
"I didn't feel the need to talk to him," Mattingly said. "Nothing was bothering him during that outing. The key was he was really throwing strikes, hitting his spots. He kept us right there early, didn't allow it to become 3-0 or 4-0."
Pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo tacked on an RBI single in the eighth to finish the scoring as the Dodgers (29-19) regained first place in the National League West, thanks to Atlanta's 8-0 win over San Francisco.
The Cardinals (32-17) lost for just the sixth time in 25 games at home and saw their five-game winning streak end.
NOTES: St. Louis LF Matt Holliday (flu-like symptoms) returned to the lineup after missing Friday night's game, but left after four innings due to illness. Holliday did extend his NL-record streak of reaching base to start a season to 44 games with a fourth inning walk. ... Los Angeles activated C Yasmani Grandal from the seven-day concussion DL and assigned OF Chris Heisey to Triple-A Oklahoma City. ... The Dodgers started Saturday night in second place in the National League West for the first time in 44 days, thanks to Friday night's loss and San Francisco's 4-2 win over Atlanta.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| LA Dodgers
|
9 |
1 |
13 |
.257 |
17 |
11 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
| St. Louis
|
6 |
0 |
6 |
.200 |
11 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
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