Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers' first-round pick in 2006 out of Highland Park High School in Texas, has sparkled in his third season in the big leagues, going 5-3 with a 3.06 ERA over 70 2/3 innings pitched. What should be even more worrisome to Cardinal hitters is that the young southpaw, who began his career May 25, 2008, vs. St. Louis, is 1-0 with 1.82 ERA in four career starts against Albert Pujols and company.
The Dodgers offense, which has been fueled by the red-hot Rafael Furcal -- hitting .429 with five RBIs and five runs over the past five games -- will attempt to improve upon their Major League leading 26-10 record since May 1. Furcal chipped in another two hits and scored the game-winning run in Tuesday's 1-0 victory.
"There's a lot of life in his body right now," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said of Furcal, who has had multiple stints on the disabled list over the past few seasons.
The sizzling Dodgers will be in tough however, as right-hander Adam Wainwright -- tied for second in the National League in wins, fourth in ERA (2.05) and third in strikeouts (85) -- will attempt to win his third straight game. Nevertheless, the 2006 World Series hero has struggled at Dodger Stadium, posting a lifetime 1-1 record with a 5.60 ERA in four career appearances.
Dodgers: Lock it up
With Tuesday's 1-0 victory, the Dodgers made it 42 consecutive wins when leading after seven innings, best in the NL. The next closest team, coincidentally, is the Cardinals at 40, followed by the Marlins at 26.
Cardinals: Edge of 17
Despite the 1-0 losing outcome, Tuesday's game was the 17th time this season that a St. Louis starter has gone seven or more innings and allowed one or no runs -- a Major League best. ... Outfielder Colby Rasmus, who was named NL Player of the Week on Monday after batting .500 with three home runs and nine RBIs, missed his second straight game against the Dodgers with a sore left calf. ... Tuesday's loss marked the fifth time the Cardinals have been shut out this season.
Wed, 6/9 10:10 PM ET
| HITTER | AVG | AB | HR | RBI |
|---|
| HITTER | AVG | AB | HR | RBI |
|---|
Dodgers parlay second chance into sweep
Given a second chance by a two-out ground-rule double in the ninth, closer Jonathan Broxton finished the Cardinals off and gave the Dodgers their first home sweep of St. Louis in 22 years.
Dodgers Beat
Photos
| St. Louis | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lopez, F, SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .263 |
| Miles, 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .300 |
| Pujols, 1B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .306 |
| Holliday, LF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .295 |
| Ludwick, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .292 |
| Molina, Y, C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .249 |
| Winn, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .230 |
| Schumaker, 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .238 |
| Wainwright, P | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .114 |
| Motte, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| a-Freese, PH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .311 |
| b-Rasmus, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .292 |
| Boggs, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 32 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 10 | .261 |
| LA Dodgers | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furcal, SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .294 |
| Kemp, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .275 |
| Ethier, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .364 |
| Ramirez, M, LF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .281 |
| Johnson, Re, LF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .314 |
| Loney, 1B | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .291 |
| Blake, 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .266 |
| DeWitt, 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .280 |
| Belisario, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Broxton, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Martin, C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .251 |
| Kershaw, P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .091 |
| Carroll, 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .291 |
| Totals | 30 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 19 | .269 |
2B: Molina, Y (9, Broxton).
HR: Ludwick (10, 4th inning off Kershaw, 2 on, 1 out).
TB: Miles 2; Pujols; Ludwick 4; Molina, Y 2; Wainwright.
RBI: Ludwick 3 (34).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Winn 2.
GIDP: Lopez, F.
Team RISP: 1-for-2.
Team LOB: 4.
2B: Ethier (17, Wainwright), Loney (16, Wainwright).
HR: Ramirez, M (5, 1st inning off Wainwright, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Ethier 3; Ramirez, M 4; Loney 5; DeWitt; Martin.
RBI: Ramirez, M 2 (28), DeWitt 2 (22).
2-out RBI: Ramirez, M 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: DeWitt; Ethier; Kershaw; Martin.
SAC: Kershaw; Blake.
Team RISP: 2-for-11.
Team LOB: 10.
BASERUNNING
CS: Kemp (9, 2nd base by Wainwright/Molina, Y).
FIELDING
DP: (Blake-DeWitt-Loney).
| St. Louis | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wainwright(L, 8-4) | 6.0 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2.30 |
| Motte | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.59 |
| Boggs | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.16 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 3.12 |
Pitches-strikes: Wainwright 113-66, Motte 16-11, Boggs 13-8, Kershaw 113-73, Belisario 11-6, Broxton 12-8.
Groundouts-flyouts: Wainwright 6-4, Motte 2-0, Boggs 1-2, Kershaw 5-3, Belisario 1-0, Broxton 1-2.
Batters faced: Wainwright 30, Motte 5, Boggs 3, Kershaw 26, Belisario 3, Broxton 5.
Umpires: HP: Kerwin Danley. 1B: CB Bucknor. 2B: Doug Eddings. 3B: Dana DeMuth.
Weather: 67 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, Out to CF.
T: 2:45.
Att: 43,299.
Compiled by MLB Advanced Media
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