The Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow and the Cardinals’ Sonny Gray squared off in an old-school pitchers’ duel Monday. But both were watching from the clubhouse when pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo’s two-out single in the ninth lifted the Cardinals to a 3-2 victory at Dodger Stadium.
Glasnow gave the Dodgers seven strong innings for the second time in three starts, conceding a run on three hits — none after the second inning — while striking out seven. Gray was even better in his seven innings, giving up just a fourth-inning solo home run to Freddie Freeman and a second-inning walk to Max Muncy.
Both then gave way to shaky bullpens, which is when things got interesting.
The Dodgers’ bullpen gave up more runs over a span of nine batters than Glasnow did all night. Anthony Banda went first, yielding a go-ahead homer to Iván Herrera three batters into the eighth inning. But the Cardinals’ Riley O’Brien gave the run right back in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff double to Teoscar Hernández, followed by two groundouts.
Newcomer Brock Stewart started the ninth for the Dodgers, but he didn’t finish it. After Willson Contreras and Lars Nootbaar greeted him with singles to put runners at the corners, Pozo squirted a two-out single over the infield to score pinch-runner Garrett Hampson for the go-ahead run.
After Shohei Ohtani led off the ninth with a single, the Cardinals’ JoJo Romero finally shut the door, getting Mookie Betts to pop out and striking out Freeman. After walking Will Smith to put the tying run at second, he retired Muncy on a line drive to right to end the night.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman hits a solo home in the fourth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals on Monday.
(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
Glasnow got off to a rough start, giving up three hits, including a solo homer by Masyn Winn, in the first two innings. But he settled in after that, surrendering just one baserunner the rest of the way, though he would have nothing to show for it, finishing without a decision for the eighth time in 10 starts.
Gray, meanwhile, was dealing from the start for the Cardinals, setting down 10 of the first 11 batters he faced before Freeman tied the score with a one-out home run, his 13th of the season, in the fourth.
Freeman has hits in 12 of his last 13 games and is batting .500 over his last six games. But his home run would prove to be the only hit the Dodgers would get off Gray, who struck out eight and walked just one.
Sasaki set to throw
Right-hander Roki Sasaki is expected to throw the equivalent of three innings to hitters Friday and if that goes well, he could begin a minor-league rehab assignment next week. He has not pitched in nearly three months after going on the IL with a shoulder impingement.
Edman goes on injured list
Utilityman Hyeseong Kim, out since July 29 with a shoulder issue, is swinging a bat and taking grounders. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is optimistic Kim be able to return soon. But another utility player, Tommy Edman, went on the IL with an ankle injury. With Kim, Edman and Kiké Hernández, another utility player, all out with injuries, Roberts has not had the usual versatility he has enjoyed in fielding a lineup.
