Cardinals try to salvage series against Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to complete a three-game sweep against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals when they meet on Wednesday afternoon.
The Dodgers have outscored the Cardinals 11-1 in the first two games of the series. Los Angeles has delivered timely two-out hitting, quality starts, solid relief pitching and much sounder defense than the Dodgers displayed in recent weeks.
"We're playing real good baseball," Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner told Access SportsNet following Tuesday's win. "We're clicking on all cylinders right now and we like our chances (Wednesday)."
The Dodgers would like to see first baseman Cody Bellinger end the series on a high note, however.
Bellinger has one hit in his past 15 at-bats to drop his batting average to a season-low .322. His only two hits in his past five games have been home runs.
On Tuesday the Dodgers placed rookie outfielder Alex Verdugo on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique, which occurred when he tried to dodge a batted ball while running the bases on Sunday.
Verdugo has been one of many bright spots for the Dodgers this season, hitting .294 with 12 home runs while playing solid defense along the way.
"With Alex, we've got to take our time and make sure we get this behind us," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Tuesday's game.
Los Angeles recalled infielder/outfielder Edwin Rios from Triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Verdugo on the active roster. Rios drew a pinch-hit walk and scored in the seventh inning of a 3-1 win on Tuesday night.
Roberts said Rios would start at first base on Wednesday.
The Dodgers plan to send Dustin May to the mound after he made his major-league debut on Friday in a 5-2 loss to the visiting San Diego Padres, their only loss in the past eight games.
May (0-1, 4.76 ERA) brought a 2-1 lead into the sixth inning before the 21-year-old right-hander surrendered three runs.
St. Louis right-hander Jack Flaherty (5-6, 3.93) went 12 starts between wins, but is coming off his best outing of the season, allowing no runs and one hit over seven innings in an 8-0 win against the visiting Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
He has been on a tear since just before the All-Star break. His record is just 1-1 in his past five starts, but his ERA is 1.15 in that span. In his prior five starts before his hot streak, he was 0-2 with a 7.82 ERA.
"Winners win," Flaherty said after his last outing. "And if I look at myself as a winner, then I need to start getting more of those."
Flaherty beat Los Angeles on April 10 as part of a four-game sweep against the visiting Dodgers. He allowed one run and three hits in six innings of the 7-2 win, which earned him his first victory of the season.
He's 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in three career starts against Los Angeles.
If the Dodgers face a key late-inning matchup against Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, expect them to go with Pedro Baez again. Goldschmidt is 1-for-24 in his career off Baez after lining out to shortstop in eighth inning on Tuesday with runners on the corners and one out.
--Field Level Media
