ST. LOUIS — In a dramatic finish, Nolan Arenado’s pinch-hit RBI double in the ninth inning enabled the St. Louis Cardinals to secure a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. This marks the second game in a row the Cardinals have successfully limited the Dodgers’ potent offense.
The inning began with Nolan Gorman hitting a ground-rule double, after which he was substituted with a pinch runner. Following this, Pedro Pages reached base on an error committed by pitcher Ben Casparius, who holds a 4-1 record. In a strategic move, the Dodgers decided to play with five infielders, leaving left field vacant. Arenado capitalized on this opportunity with a fly ball landing inside the foul line before bouncing into the stands for a ground-rule double.
Despite leading the league in scoring, home runs, and batting average, the Dodgers were unable to score for the initial 17 innings of the series. However, they managed to level the game when Shohei Ohtani scored due to a wild pitch by Cardinals’ Ryan Helsley, who holds a 3-0 record. This incident marked the second consecutive game where Helsley failed to secure a save.
St. Louis initially took the lead in the eighth inning when Masyn Winn dashed home on an infield single by Alec Burleson, setting the score at 1-0. Pitcher Erick Fedde delivered 5 1-3 scoreless innings, where he issued four walks, struck out two batters, and allowed four singles. In the sixth inning, after allowing the first two batters to reach base, Fedde managed to strike out Andy Pages, and Steven Matz successfully retired the subsequent two batters to neutralize the scoring threat.
On the Dodgers’ side, starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a noteworthy six scoreless innings, striking out nine, and giving up four singles along with two walks.
The game saw a pivotal moment in the seventh inning when Matz, after being hit on the right forearm by a line drive from Mookie Betts resulting in an infield single, executed an inning-ending double play against NL batting leader Freddie Freeman to keep the game scoreless.
Notably, the Dodgers have managed to avoid shutouts in consecutive games since two back-to-back 1-0 losses to the San Francisco Giants at the beginning of the 2018 season.
Looking ahead, the Cardinals plan to bring in RHP Michael McGreevy, who boasts a 1-0 record with a 0.00 ERA, for his second start of the season on Sunday. He will face Dodgers’ LHP Clayton Kershaw, who, although not having a decision yet, currently has a 5.17 ERA. Previously, McGreevy pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings contributing to a victory against the Mets on May 4.