Mookie Betts and Tony Gonsolin lead Dodgers to back-to-basics win over Cardinals
ST. LOUIS — After a week of short outings from their starting pitchers, heavy innings being shouldered by their bullpen, and roller-coaster games featuring wild momentum swings from their offense, the Dodgers finally followed a more straightforward blueprint Friday night.
They got a scoreless five-inning effort from Tony Gonsolin, the first Dodgers starter to pitch past the fourth inning since his previous outing Sunday.
They got a couple of key plays from the defense, highlighted by a sixth inning in which James Outman robbed a home run and the infield turned a crucial double play.
Tyler Cyr oversees a scoreless ninth to preserve Dodgers’ 5-0 win
⚾ Dodgers 5, Cardinals 0 — FINAL
Top of the ninth: Max Muncy struck out and Miguel Vargas grounded out before James Outman drew a walk from Cardinals reliever Chris Stratton. Miguel Rojas popped out in foul territory near first base.
Bottom of the ninth: Making his Dodgers debut, Tyler Cyr struck out Nolan Arenado. Willson Contreras then grounded out and Brendan Donovan flied out to end the game.
Tony Gonsolin allowed one hit over five scoreless innings to improve to 2-1 and lower his earned-run average to 1.13. Chris Taylor got the Dodgers on the scoreboard with a run-scoring double in the fifth.
James Outman made a spectacular, leaping grab over the center-field wall to rob Paul Goldschmidt of a home run in the sixth. Mookie Betts provided some insurance with a three-run home run to left-center in the eighth and Will Smith hit an RBI single in the eighth for the final run.
The Dodgers and Cardinals meet against Saturday at 4:15 p.m. PDT.
Mookie Betts extends Dodgers’ lead on three-run home run
⚾ Dodgers 5, Cardinals 0 — Eighth inning
Top of the eighth: Mookie Betts hit a three-run home run off Cardinals reliever Chris Stratton to extend the Dodgers’ lead. Betts’ 10th homer run of the season was a no-doubter to left-center field. The two-out homer scored Miguel Vargas and David Peralta. Two batters later, Will Smith hit a run-scoring single to make it a four-run eighth for the Dodgers. J.D. Martinez grounded to second base for the final out.
Bottom of the eighth: Dodgers reliever Caleb Ferguson struck out Tommy Edman before a fielding error by shortstop Miguel Rojas allowed Oscar Mercado to reach base. Lars Nootbar grounded into a force out at second. Ferguson then struck out Nolan Gorman.
Dodgers hold onto narrow lead in the eighth inning
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — Seventh inning
Top of the seventh: Facing Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks, Mookie Betts walked and Freddie Freeman was hit by a pitch. Will Smith and J.D. Martinez then struck out. Max Muncy grounded out as the Dodgers fell to two for 14 with runners in scoring position tonight.
Bottom of the seventh: Dodgers reliever Shelby Miller retired the Cardinals in order.
James Outman robs Paul Goldschmidt of homer with incredible catch
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — End of the sixth
Top of the sixth: James Outman, Miguel Rojas and Trayce Thompson are retired in order.
Bottom the sixth: Dodgers center fielder James Outman made an incredible leaping grab to rob a home run away from Paul Goldschmidt. Nolan Arenado hit into a 4-6-3 double play as Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol got out of the inning unscathed.
Chris Taylor’s run-scoring double pushes Dodgers into lead
⚾ Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0 — End of the fifth
Top of the fifth: A throwing error by Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado allowed Mookie Betts to take first. A Freddie Freeman fly out to left and a balk by Cardinals pitcher Steven Metz moved Betts to third. J.D. Martinez then walked, prompting a mound visit. Chris Taylor doubled on a liner to left, scoring Betts. The hit ended Matz’s night on the mound, with Andre Pallante taking over. Miguel Vargas grounded out to second to cap the frame.
Matz allowed six hits, walked two and struck out six over 4 2/3 innings and 103 pitches.
Bottom of the fifth: Tony Gonsolin retired the Cardinals in order and is likely done for the night. Gonsolin has allowed one hit, walked three and struck out three over 94 pitches.
Dodgers and Cardinals still scoreless after four innings
⚾ Dodgers 0, Cardinals 0 — End of the fourth
Top of the fourth: Miguel Vargas grounded out before James Outman singled on a line drive to right. Miguel Rojas then grounded out softly to the pitcher and Trayce Thompson struck out.
Bottom of the fourth: Willson Contreras popped out and Miguel Rojas made a spectacular, leaping grab on a flare off the bat of Brendan Donovan. Paul DeJong then popped out to Tony Gonsolin in front of home plate to end the inning.
Dodgers hit another double, but leave another runner stranded
⚾ Dodgers 0, Cardinals 0 — End of the third
Top of the third: J.D. Martinez hit the Dodger’s third double of the night off Steven Matz, driving the ball into the left-field corner. Chris Taylor then struck out for the second time tonight to make it four stranded Dodgers runners over three innings.
Bottom of the third: Lars Nootbar grounded out, Paul Goldschmidt walked, Nolan Gorman struck out and Nolan Arenado grounded out for the Cardinals.
Dodgers and Cardinals tied 0-0 heading into the third
⚾ Dodgers 0, Cardinals 0 — End of the second
Top of the second: Miguel Vargas led off with a double on a liner to left. After James Outman struck out, Miguel Rojas singled to right, moving Vargas to third. Steve Matz struck out Trayce Thompson and Mookie Betts lined out to short to leave two stranded.
Bottom of the second: Tony Gonsolin strucked out Brendan Donovan before walking Paul DeJong. Andrew Knizner popped out to first and Oscar Mercado grounded into a force out at second.
Dodgers and Cardinals scoreless after the first inning
⚾ Dodgers 0, Cardinals 0 — End of the first
Top of the first: Facing Cardinals starter Steven Matz (0-4, 5.62 ERA), Mookie Betts flied out before Freddie Freeman stretched a hit to shallow left into a double. J.D. Martinez then flied out and Chris Taylor struck out.
Bottom of the first: Lars Nootbar lined out and Tony Gonsolin walked Paul Goldschmidt after the Dodgers starter was called for a pitch-clock violation. Gonsolin struck out Nolan Gorman then gave up a single to Nolan Arenado. Willson Contreras lined out to Gonsolin to cap the frame.
Dodgers-Cardinals could be delayed by rain; Dodgers freshen up bullpen
ST. LOUIS — Tonight’s Dodgers-Cardinals game at Busch Stadium could be delayed by rain, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, but the teams are expecting to be able to get nine innings in.
While a potential rain-out would give the Dodgers’ overworked pitching staff — in particular, a bullpen that has thrown 26 innings that last four days — a rest, Roberts said he would rather get today’s game in than deal with a potential double-header Saturday.
The manager actually felt OK about his bullpen options for Friday, noting that Victor González and Phil Bickford are the only pitchers who will be unavailable for the game.
Roster move
The Dodgers did make a move to freshen up their bullpen for Friday, calling up reliever Tyler Cyr while sending down long man Andre Jackson.
Jackson pitched 3 1/3 innings on Thursday, giving the Dodgers some much-needed length after their starting pitcher went four innings or fewer for the fourth straight game.
Here’s the starting lineup for Dodgers vs. Cardinals
Here’s the starting lineup for the Dodgers against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday:
And here’s the Cardinals’ starting lineup:
Thursday recap: Dodgers unsure if Julio Urías was tipping pitches
ST. LOUIS — The Dodgers were behind the eight-ball from the start of Thursday’s game.
Their rotation depth was running thin, in the wake of Dustin May’s forearm injury Wednesday. Their bullpen was overworked, having thrown 21 innings the previous three days. And they were beginning a tricky 10-game trip, starting with a four-game series against the suddenly scorching St. Louis Cardinals.
What the team needed was an ace-caliber performance from Julio Urías — the kind of shutdown, bullpen-saving start that could reset the pitching staff and start the weekend with a strong opening statement.
What they got instead was a blowout marked by some ignominious history — with Urías giving up a single-inning franchise-record four home runs in the third inning of an eventual 16-8 defeat at Busch Stadium.
Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season
Here’s a look at the Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season. All times and broadcast/streaming options are subject to change.
