May 29, 2017
Chase Utley, Cody Bellinger and Logan Forsythe all hit home runs, as the Dodgers defeated the Cardinals 5-1 on Monday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
Rich Hill (2-2) rebounded from a poor start against the Cardinals last week by pitching 5 strong innings, giving up just 1 earned run on 2 hits. He struck out 4, walked 2, while throwing 86 pitches and picking up the win.
“We’re starting to hit the ball out of the ballpark,” skipper Dave Roberts said. “To see Logan get a homer, obviously Cody’s been doing it. Chase really quality at-bats and starting to hit the ball out of the ballpark, but I think if you look at our lineup, there’s guys that are really grinding that aren’t swinging the way we’re capable of.”
The Dodgers have now won 5 in a row, and with the Rockies’ loss Monday, LA is just .5 games out of 1st place in the NL West.
Mike Leake (5-3) took the loss. He entered the game leading the majors with a 1.91 ERA, but allowed a season-high four runs in 6 2/3 innings.
The Dodgers got a pair of runs in the 3rd inning on Utley’s solo blast, and an RBI single from Corey Seager, which scored Yasiel Puig. Utley has hit 3 home runs in his last 5 games, while hitting .461 and driving in 6 runs in that stretch.
Bellinger’s solo shot in the 4th inning made it 3-0. it was his ninth home run in May, tying Joc Pederson and James Loney for the Dodgers rookie record for home runs in a month. The Dodger rookie also leads the club with 11 homers and 29 RBI.
The Cards’ only run of the game came on a sacrifice fly in the 4th inning by Jedd Gyorko, scoring Tommy Pham.
The Dodgers would add a sacrifice fly in the 7th from Yasiel Puig, followed by Logan Forsythe’s first homer as a Dodger.
Brandon Morrow pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth in his season debut for the Dodgers after having his contract purchased from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Dodgers and Cardinals will do it again at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night. Kenta Maeda (4-2, 5.08 ERA) will face St. Louis for the 2nd straight start. The Cardinals will send Michael Wacha (2-2, 3.66 ERA) to the mound.