LOS ANGELES (AP) — For the second straight game, the St. Louis Cardinals rallied to win. And for the second time in the series, they did it on a ninth-inning homer off All-Star closer Kenley Jansen.
“It’s definitely redundant,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Same thing we’ve seen.”
The Cardinals clearly love a rerun.
Paul DeJong hit the go-ahead, two-run homer Wednesday night for a 3-1 victory and the Cardinals’ first sweep at Dodger Stadium since 2006.
“It’s been a snowball effect for us,” DeJong said. “We can win every game.”
St. Louis remained 2½ games behind the NL Central-leading Cubs.
“It shows the resilience of our team. Everyone steps up on a nightly basis,” DeJong said. “It’s always someone new coming through.”
For Jansen, it was the same old story.
The Dodgers closer, who became a father for the third time earlier in the day, gave up consecutive homers to Jedd Gyorko and Matt Carpenter in the series opener Monday. That was Jansen’s first game back after missing time because of an irregular heartbeat.
This time, Gyorko got a broken-bat single off Jansen (0-5), and DeJong followed with his 14th homer to left-center, giving the Cardinals their first lead of the game.
“Very frustrating,” Jansen said. “Got to figure out how to get back out of this mess.”
The Dodgers went quietly in the ninth, with Jordan Hicks striking out Cody Bellinger, Brian Dozier and Chris Taylor to earn his fifth save.
Dakota Hudson (4-0) got the win with one inning of relief.
Los Angeles loaded the bases in the eighth, but Manny Machado grounded out to end the inning. The Dodgers stranded 30 runners while getting swept for the third time this season.
They dropped to 32-33 at home, falling below .500 at Dodger Stadium for the first time since June 30.
Rookie Tyler O’Neill launched his first career pinch-hit homer in the top of the eighth off Scott Alexander, tying it 1-all.
Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler dueled in a stellar matchup of rookie pitchers, although neither figured in the decision.
Flaherty held the Dodgers hitless through 5 1/3 innings. Joc Pederson broke through after Buehler struck out leading off the sixth, slugging his 19th homer to right field for a 1-0 lead.
Flaherty gave up just that one hit in six innings. The 22-year-old right-hander from nearby Burbank struck out 10 and walked two on 101 pitches.
“It was special,” Flaherty said. “I wanted to make sure to take in the moment and enjoy it.”
Buehler scattered three hits over seven innings, struck out a career-high nine and walked two on 104 pitches.
The Dodgers have lost three in a row and they dropped four games behind NL West-leading Arizona in pursuit of a sixth straight division title.
“Things are not working in the ’pen,” Jansen said. “We need to figure it out.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: Placed OF Marcell Ozuna on the 10-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation after he received a cortisone injection. INF Yairo Munoz (right wrist sprain) was activated from the DL.
Dodgers: LHP Julio Urias (left shoulder surgery) came out of his 2 1/3-inning outing at Class A Rancho Cucamonga “feeling good,” according to Roberts. Urias will get three days off before the team decides where he goes next.
RARE SWEEP
The Cardinals had not swept the Dodgers since taking a four-game set in July 2010. St. Louis earned its first sweep at Dodger Stadium since July 21-23, 2006. It was the Cardinals’ sixth sweep of the season.
TURNSTILES CLICKING
The Dodgers became the first team to top 3 million in attendance this season. They surpassed the mark for the seventh straight season and 22nd time in the last 23 years. They have drawn 3,036,253 so far.
BABY MAKES THREE
Jansen’s wife, Gianni, gave birth to Kyrian Jeremiah Jansen, who weighed 8 pounds, 16 ounces. The couple has another son, 3-year-old Kaden Isaiah. Jansen has daughter Natalia from a previous relationship. “It’s a happy, bitter day,” Jansen said after the game.
UTLEY & SONS
On his bobblehead night, Chase Utley was joined by his sons to proclaim the traditional pregame announcement: “It’s time for Dodger baseball!” Two of them were his real sons and the other was teammate Enrique Hernandez, who sat on Utley’s knee. Hernandez jokingly calls Utley “Grandpa” and has been close to the 39-year-old second baseman who is retiring at season’s end.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: After getting Thursday off in Denver, RHP Miles Mikolas (13-3, 2.80 ERA) starts the series opener against the Rockies. His victories are the most by a first-year St. Louis pitcher since Kyle Lohse in 2008.
Dodgers: After a day off, LHP Rich Hill (5-4, 3.73) starts the series opener at home Friday against San Diego. He’s 4-4 with a 3.44 ERA vs. the Padres while holding their batters to a .199 average.
Photo credit – Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press / Los Angeles, CA
