LOS ANGELES (AP) Edmundo Sosa hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning, Tyler O’Neill made a running catch for the final out and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 Tuesday night.
It was a rewarding victory for the Cardinals, who found out before the game that Jack Flaherty, their ace right-hander, will be sidelined for a while due to what manager Mike Shildt termed a “significant” oblique injury.
“Nobody hung their heads. We found a way to get it done. Grit is a high compliment for this team,” Shildt said.
O’Neill led off the ninth with a single against Blake Treinen (1-2) and stole second base. He scored when Sosa hit a sharp grounder into left field. Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was playing in near the infield grass and was unable to get a glove on the ball.
The Dodgers had a chance in the ninth after pinch-hitter Yoshi Tsutsugo drew a two-out walk and advanced to second on Cody Bellinger’s single. Mookie Betts then lined a ball to the warning track in left, but O’Neill made a leaping grab to give Alex Reyes his 16th save.
“Those are just go get ’em plays, just full throttle,” O’Neill said. “I got a good first step on it. I knew I had to go get it. It was either going to be at the track, at the wall or over the wall. That’s where I was going. I was timing my jump and it all kind of lined up.”
John Gant threw six shutout innings, but the right-hander did not factor in the decision after Matt Beaty’s two-run homer in the seventh off Giovanny Gallegos (3-1) tied it.
Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson each had two hits and made great defensive plays in the sixth. Edman made a leaping catch at second base to snag Max Muncy’s line drive that had a hit probability of 91% according to MLB Statcast.
With runners on second and third, Carlson prevented Gavin Lux from tying the game when he made a sliding catch in center to end the inning.
“Seeing those guys work is a beautiful thing. What they do kind of allows us to go out there and throw with a little more confidence,” Gant said of the St. Louis defense. “Not maybe make plays. They’re gonna make plays.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who saw his team drop to 7-13 in one-run games, said the Cardinals’ defense definitely was the difference maker.
“It was remarkable. The line score doesn’t tell the story of the at-bats we took. Across the board those guys made a lot of good plays,” he said.
St. Louis began the game with three straight hits off starter David Price. Edman led off with a double, advanced to third on a single by Carlson and scored when Paul Goldschmidt lined a ball into the corner in left field for a ground-rule double.
The Cardinals tacked on another run in the second when Carlson ended Price’s night with a two-out single to drive in José Rondón.
The Dodgers finally broke through in the seventh to tie it. Albert Pujols drew a one-out walk before being lifted for a pinch-runner. Beaty then drove Gallegos’ slider over the wall in right for his second home run of the homestand.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: OF Harrison Bader (right hairline rib fracture) has started some light throwing and swinging. He is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list on Friday, but Shildt isn’t sure if Bader will be ready.
UP NEXT
Cardinals RHP Carlos Martínez (3-4, 4.22 ERA) carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning in his last start on May 27 at Arizona before Ketel Marte broke it up with a single. Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler (3-0, 2.66) is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA in his past four starts.
Game time Wednesday night is at 8:10 with the pre-game at 7:15 on KTLO-AM.
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