The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 on Friday, opening a three-game series with another fast start and another big night at the plate. Nolan Gorman hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Jordan Walker finished with four hits, including a two-run double in the seventh.
Matthew Liberatore earned the win and improved to 1-1 after allowing two runs, five hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. Emmet Sheehan took the loss and fell to 2-1, giving up four runs and eight hits with eight strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
The Cardinals took control early when Sheehan allowed a run on a balk in the first inning, then Gorman followed with his two-run shot for a 3-0 lead. Max Muncy answered with an RBI double in the second, but Alec Burleson restored the gap with a solo homer in the third. Kyle Tucker added a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Walker and Nathan Church drove in runs in the seventh.
St. Louis collected 12 hits and got scoreless work over the final 3 1/3 innings from George Soriano, Gordon Graceffo and Matt Svanson. The Cardinals had 14 hits in a 10-5 win over the Pirates on Thursday, and this one pushed their winning streak to five games and improved them to 11-5 since April 14.
The result left Los Angeles with its third straight loss and dropped the Dodgers to 5-8 since April 18. Friday was the first game of a six-game homestand for St. Louis, and the Cardinals kept carrying the same pressure they brought back from Pittsburgh. The question now is whether this lineup has finally settled into the kind of run that travels from one night to the next.
