The Dodgers’ August woes followed them into the first day of September.
Roster expansion, returning three players from the injured list, the mental relief of turning the calendar page — none of that gave the Dodgers the boost they needed against the Cardinals on Tuesday.
Instead, the Dodgers lost 13-8 to a team that entered the day 4 ½ games out of the last NL wild-card spot.
During the Dodgers’ past seven road trips (following a high-scoring trip to Chicago), their rotation has recorded a top-5 ERA (2.97) in the majors. But on Tuesday, left-hander Eric Lauer coughed up seven runs in three innings.
It was a personal outlier as well in Lauer’s time with the Dodgers. Lauer had given up more than three runs in just two other outings since the Dodgers acquired him from the Blue Jays in mid-May, and Tuesday marked his shortest start.
The Dodgers had briefly moved Lauer from the rotation into the bullpen, but he reclaimed his starting role when right-hander Roki Sasaki landed on the IL last week with a blister on his right middle finger.
Lauer’s start Tuesday began to go downhill in the second inning when he gave up back-to-back solo homers to Ramón Urias and Thomas Saggese with two outs.
Those two runs could have been quickly forgotten if Lauer had gotten back on track. The next inning, however, he surrendered five runs as the Cardinals kept chipping away with five singles, a hit batter, a walk and a sacrifice fly.
The Dodgers struck back in the bottom half of the inning — but not exactly with authority.
Mookie Betts’ bases-clearing double was assisted by a Cardinals defensive miscue. Right fielder Jordan Walker and second baseman José Fermín both raced after Betts’ shallow fly. As Fermín dashed back, Walker slid to attempt the catch — and took out Fermín’s feet from under him.
The ball fell to the ground. With two outs, Dodgers baserunners were going on contact and all three crossed the plate before Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson could retrieve the ball and throw it.
Betts’ bat stayed hot. And he contributed another RBI double in the fifth — this one smoked up the left-field line to drive in one run. But it didn’t do much to put a dent in the Cardinals’ lead.
The Cardinals continued to tack on against the Dodgers bullpen, powered by three more home runs, off right-hander Seth Halvorsen, lefty Alex Vesia and lefty Justin Wrobleski, fresh off the injured list.
Catcher Will Smith, who the Dodgers also activated from the IL Tuesday, put the ball in the air in his first four at-bats and was finally rewarded in the seventh inning with an RBI double. He drove in another run in the ninth, grounding into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded, as part of a three-run last-ditch rally.
All four players who the Dodgers activated on Tuesday appeared in the game. In addition to Smith and Wrobleski, second baseman Alex Freeland (recalled from Triple-A) started the game, and Dalton Rushing (reinstated from the IL) struck out in his lone pinch-hit at-bat. Rushing will provide a left-handed bat off the bench until he’s graduated from his throwing program and built up on the defensive side.
The score was so lopsided by the ninth inning that utility player Kiké Hernández took the mound to finish the game — but without his signature pitching helmet.
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