ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dexter Fowler hit tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to back Carlos Martinez and give the St. Louis Cardinals a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday night.
Martinez (4-4) allowed one run on four hits while striking out nine as he pitched eight innings to help St. Louis snap a three-game losing streak.
Ross Stripling (0-3) lost for the first time since April 26 as he surrendered Fowler’s seventh home run of the season, a 429-foot shot to right-center field. The Dodgers saw their six-game winning streak end.
Seung-Hwan Oh pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save in 14 opportunities this season.
Hyun-Jin Ryu returned to the rotation in place of Alex Wood after earning the save last Wednesday, May 24 versus St. Louis in his first career relief appearance. Ryu allowed one run on three hits in six innings in his first start since May 11 at Colorado.
Cardinals rookie second baseman Paul DeJong drove in Tommy Pham in the second inning after Chris Taylor initially broke in on a ball that ultimately went over his head for a double. The run was St. Louis’ first with Martinez on the mound since May 13.
Los Angeles tied the game 1-1 in the sixth inning on Adrian Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly that drove in Corey Seager.
PISCOTTY RETURNS:
Cardinals RF Stephen Piscotty returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games to be back with his family in California after his mother was diagnosed with ALS.
FORTY-FIVE CANDLES:
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts celebrated his forty-fifth birthday. He said, “I got coffee and scouted the Cardinals,” to revel in the occasion.
PASS OUT THE CIGARS:
3B Jedd Gyorko was back with the club after his wife, Karley, gave birth to the couple’s first daughter, Brooklyn Ellee, at 7:46 p.m. on Tuesday. Gyorko will go on the paternity list and miss the club’s games Friday and Saturday in Chicago before returning to the team on Sunday.
TRAINER’S ROOM:
Dodgers: IF Justin Turner (strained right hamstring) took swings in the batting cage and ran at about 70 percent pregame. “When he’ll return, I still don’t know,” said Roberts. “We’re still for me, realistically, a week away for him to think about being back with us.”
Cardinals: Prior to the game the club released RHP Jonathan Broxton and recalled RHP John Gant from Triple-A Memphis. Gant opened the season on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right groin before being optioned to Memphis on May 16.
UP NEXT:
Dodgers: Brandon McCarthy (5-1, 3.28 ERA) is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in three career starts against St. Louis.
Cardinals: Adam Wainwright (5-3, 4.20 ERA) has not lost since April 16 and has gone 5-0 with a 3.21 ERA since then.
— Associated Press —