Joc Pederson’s home-run streak ends in 7-1 loss to Cardinals

KEY MOMENT: When a grounder scooted under the glove of Justin Turner for an error in the third inning, it seemed like a small mistake. There were two outs and no one on in a scoreless game. But the Cardinals used three straight singles from Matt Holliday, Jhonny Peralta and Mark Reynolds to take an early 2-0 lead.

AT THE PLATE: The Dodgers threatened in consecutive innings but managed just one run against Michael Wacha. In the fifth inning, Joc Pederson struck out with two runners on. And in the sixth, the Dodgers loaded the bases but scored only one run, on a sacrifice fly from Alex Guerrero. Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner and Enrique Hernandez all finished with two hits.

ON THE MOUND: Carlos Frias was stung by the two unearned runs in the third inning, and then ran into trouble after walking the leadoff hitter in a three-run fifth inning. He finished with 10 hits allowed in 6 2/3 innings. Daniel Coulombe made his second appearance of the season in relief and pitched the final 2 1/3 innings. He worked out of a jam in the seventh inning but allowed two runs in the eighth inning.

STREAK BUSTED: Pederson had already begun a trot after blasting a ball to left-center field in the third inning. He thought the ball was gone. Then it hit right off the “375” sign, and he had to run for a double. That was as close as Pederson would get to a home run. Entering the game, he had homered in five straight games, which tied the Dodgers record and the all-time record for all rookies. He was nearing the record of eight, shared by Dale Long, Ken Griffey Jr. and Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly. “I hope he breaks it and gets 10, 12 straight,” Mattingly said before the game.

EXTRA BASES: Howie Kendrick was held out of the lineup after injuring his knee with a slide on Wednesday. “We want to give him 24 hours and see if he’s going to be able to bounce back,” Mattingly said. He indicated the injury could sideline him for longer. “We’ll know more tomorrow with Howie, as far as, he was stiff today, is he going to be a lot better?” … Right-hander Zach Lee, the Dodgers’ first-round pick in 2010, is experiencing tingling in his fingers and has been pulled from Triple-A to be evaluated in Los Angeles. … Hector Olivera, the Cuban infielder signed to a six-year, $62.5-million deal last month, made his professional debut with double-A Tulsa on Thursday. He played third base and went one for four with two walks. … In his first rehab game since re-injuring a strained left hamstring, Yasiel Puig was two for four with a double, a run and a strikeout at single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

UP NEXT: Left-hander Brett Anderson (2-3, 3.42 earned-run average) will oppose St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez (5-2, 3.13 ERA) at Dodger Stadium at 7 p.m. TV: SportsNet LA; Radio: 570, 1020