The Dodgers came up short in the rubber match loss, and now hold the NL West lead by just 3 1/2 games.
Clayton Kershaw didn’t make it out of the third inning, after the Cardinals worked him for 97 pitches, including two runs on five hits with five walks. He left with two on and two out in the fourth, and James McDonald escaped the inning and also sailed through the next two. Belisario and Kuo each tossed a scoreless inning before Broxton came on in search of his 27th save. He gave Pujols a leadoff walk, who stole second after Russell Martin’s throw sailed into the outfield, which allowed Pujols to take third. He then score what would be the winning run on Matt Holliday’s sacfly.
Adam Wainwright had a no-hitter going until Orlando Hudson drove a one-out single in the sixth. The Dodgers finally touched Wainwright for a couple runs in the seventh, when Andre Ethier and Casey Blake each drilled solo homeruns.
This is the fifth straight series that the Dodgers have dropped to the Cardinals, and now their NL West lead isn’t so comfortable anymore. They stay at home this weekend, opening a four-game series with the Cubs tonight. Jeff Weaver will start in place on Hiroki Kuroda, who is still nursing his concussion after last weekend’s injury. This is Weaver’s seventh start for the Dodgers, his last coming on August 12. He will face Tom Gorzelanny, a lefty who was recently traded from the Pirates to Cubs.
