Dodgers at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals try for a four-game sweep of the suddenly impotent Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday after shutting down the National League's most productive offense for a third straight contest. St. Louis, which has won four straight games by a combined 19-6, prevailed 7-2 on Wednesday and has outscored Los Angeles 15-5 after the Dodgers entered the series averaging 8.4 runs.
The Cardinals' Paul DeJong (.333) continues to swing a hot bat as he extended his career-high hitting streak to 11 games by going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI on Wednesday. St. Louis' Yadier Molina belted a two-run homer and had three RBIs, and is 8-for-20 since starting the season 2-for-28. Los Angeles' Joc Pederson was 0-for-21 in his previous eight games before going 2-for-4 and belting his fourth home run of the season Wednesday. The Dodgers' Walker Buehler tries to continue his dominance of the Cardinals when he takes the ball Thursday and opposes Michael Wacha, who walked a career-high eight in his last outing.
TV: 1:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network; SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers RH Walker Buehler (1-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (0-0, 1.54)
Buehler faced St. Louis twice in 2018 - winning once and receiving a no-decision in the other, allowing five hits and four walks while striking out 18 in 12 scoreless innings. The 24-year-old Kentucky native was sharper in his second outing this season, yielding one run, three hits and two walks while striking out four in five innings of a 7-2 victory at Colorado on Saturday. Buehler matched a career high by permitting five runs in Los Angeles' 8-7 win over Arizona on March 31.
Wacha struggled with his command in the Cardinals' 6-4 loss to San Diego on Saturday, throwing 119 pitches over 5 2/3 innings and allowing one run and three hits with seven strikeouts. The 27-year-old Iowa native walked four in his season opener - St. Louis' 5-4 loss at Milwaukee on March 31, yielding one run and four hits while striking out seven in six frames. The Dodgers are batting a collective .377 against Wacha, who is 1-4 with a 5.46 ERA in six starts versus Los Angeles.
WALK-OFFS
1. Dodgers C Russell Martin (back) was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday after he was hurt fielding ground balls Tuesday. Los Angeles recalled C Rocky Gale from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
2. Cardinals 2B Kolton Wong started the season 13-for-30 before going 0-for-10 in the first three games of the series.
3. The series, which began in 1892, is tied 1,029-1,029 with 16 ties.