Dodgers can’t stop Cardinals in 7-4 loss

ST. LOUIS -- The Dodgers might have a strong new asset in Hanley Ramirez, but there’s still the problem of holding back the National League’s best-hitting team, theSt. Louis Cardinals.

That responsibility largely fell to Dodgers pitcher Chris Capuano on Thursday afternoon, yet the left-hander lasted only 4 1/3 innings after being tagged for 11 hits and six runs at Busch Stadium.

In the end, St. Louis collected a season-high 18 hits and the Cardinals won, 7-4, dropping the Dodgers three games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants — who were idle Thursday — in the National League West.

The Dodgers then traveled to San Francisco to open a three-game series with the Giants on Friday.

After winning the first game of their four-game series with St. Louis, which extended an overall winning streak to five games, the Dodgers lost the final three to the Cardinals, despite Ramirez getting on base three more times with a single and two walks.

“It ends up being a disappointing series for the most part,” Manager Don Mattingly said. “We just weren’t able to stop them.”

Seeking a club-high 11th victory, Capuano (10-6) first found trouble in the fourth inning when consecutive hits by Allen Craig, David Freese, Matt Carpenter and Tony Cruz gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

The Dodgers answered in the fifth inning with five consecutive singles of their own against St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook (9-8) which, along with a throwing error by third baseman Freese and a sacrifice fly by Capuano, produced four runs.

But the Cardinals jumped on Capuano again in their half of the fifth inning.

With one out, Daniel Descalso singled, Matt Holiday walked, Craig singled home a run, Freese singled home two more to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead and Capuano’s day was done.

Reliever Javy Guerra took over, and St. Louis catcher Cruz hit a fly-ball single to right that skipped past Andre Ethier for an error. Freese scored, then later left the game because of a muscle cramp in his right calf.

Holliday added another run against Guerra in the sixth inning with a 421-foot home run over the center-field wall, helping the Cardinals secure the win and the series.

“It seems like the momentum that we had shifted the other way on us and we weren’t able to turn it around,” catcher Matt Treanor said. “So I think we’re looking forward to leaving town and getting fired up for the Giants.”

Mattingly said the Dodgers would announce their starting pitcher for Friday’s game against the Giants sometime earlier Friday. Nathan Eovaldi had been scheduled to start, but the 22-year-old right-hander was traded to the Miami Marlins as part of the Ramirez deal.

james.peltz@latimes.com