Nolan Arenado delivered a pinch-hit walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and securing their second consecutive victory in a tightly contested series at Busch Stadium.
With the game tied 1-1 in the ninth, Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman opened the inning with a ground-rule double off Dodgers reliever Ben Casparius, who entered with a 4-0 record. A pinch-runner replaced Gorman before Pedro Pagés reached on an error by Casparius, setting up Arenado’s game-winning hit. The Dodgers brought in a fifth infielder and vacated left field in a defensive shift, but Arenado’s soft fly ball dropped just inside the left-field line and bounced into the stands, allowing the winning run to score.
Los Angeles entered the game as slight favorites, with most oddsmakers placing them around -115 on the moneyline behind starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The over/under for total runs was set at 8.5, which ultimately stayed under due to another strong pitching performance on both sides.
The Dodgers, who lead Major League Baseball in scoring, home runs, and batting average, were blanked through the first 17 innings of the series before tying the game in the top of the ninth. Shohei Ohtani scored on a wild pitch by Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley to even the score at 1-1. It marked Helsley’s second straight blown save, though he would ultimately be credited with the win, improving to 3-0.
The Cardinals had taken the lead in the eighth inning when Masyn Winn raced home on Alec Burleson’s infield single. That run broke up a scoreless game dominated by starting pitching.
Erick Fedde delivered a solid outing for St. Louis, throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing four hits and four walks. He struck out two. After allowing the first two Dodgers batters to reach in the sixth, he struck out Andy Pages before yielding to left-handed reliever Steven Matz, who escaped the jam.
Yamamoto countered with his own strong performance, striking out nine batters over six innings while allowing four singles and two walks. The right-hander left the game with it still scoreless.
The Dodgers threatened again in the seventh when Mookie Betts lined a ball off Matz’s right forearm for an infield single. Matz remained in the game despite the scare and retired Freddie Freeman on a double play to end the inning. Freeman, who leads the National League in batting average, was kept in check throughout the game.
This marks the first time since the opening series of the 2018 season that the Dodgers have been held to one or fewer runs in back-to-back games. Los Angeles has now dropped three of its last four.
The Cardinals will look to secure a series win in the finale on Sunday. Right-hander Michael McGreevy is expected to be recalled from Triple-A for his second start of the season. He will face Dodgers veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who enters with a 0-0 record and a 5.17 ERA in limited action following injury recovery.
