ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals lost Sunday in Milwaukee when the Brewers scored five runs in the ninth inning. Adopting a different approach on Monday, they were forced to come from behind as they surrendered four runs in the top of the first at Busch Stadium to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That stratagem didn’t work either. The Cardinals got behind. And stayed behind as they dropped a 5-1 verdict before the largest crowd of the season at Busch, 43,575, a paid house augmented by discount tickets and many Dodger fans.
Many of those booed when fan favorite Albert Pujols, who had 11 marvelous years here, did not pinch hit in the ninth inning for the Dodgers.
Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas, with his fastball touching 93 and 94 miles an hour, was throwing hard enough in the first. But the Dodgers, who arrived in town from San Francisco at 3 a.m., were hitting it even harder. After that, Mikolas, in his fourth start since coming off the disabled list, pitched quite well, giving up only one hit and one unearned run in his final four innings of the five he toiled.
But St. Louisan Max Scherzer, who had flown here ahead of his mates, made sure there was no comeback by the Cardinals. Scherzer (13-4), posting his ninth successive win, counting his time in Washington and Los Angeles, beat the Cardinals for only the fourth time in 10 career decisions, holding them to six hits and one unearned run, striking out 13 and walking none in eight innings. Sherzer also struck out twice himself, leaving him at an even nothing for 50 for the season.
The Cardinals lost for the third time in succession and have sunk back to just two wins over .500 at 69-67, with four teams ahead of them for the second wild-card berth in the National League.
League-leading hitter Trea Turner bounced a double over the left-center-field wall to start the first-inning uprising and stopped at third on Max Muncy’s hard single to right.
Mookie Betts lined a single to left for one and sending Muncy to third. A brief respite for Mikolas ensued as Justin Turner rapped into a double started by second baseman Tommy Edman although Muncy scored.
But Corey Seager walked and Chris Taylor mauled his 20th homer
Edman opened the Cardinals’ first with his 37th double of the season and he got to third on a Scherzer wild pitch. But Scherzer struck out Paul Goldschmidt, who had been two for 29 with 16 strikeouts against Scherzer before Goldschmidt singled in his final three at-bats. Scherzeer also fanned Dylan Carlson and Tyler O’Neill to end the first.
That gave Scherzer 200 strikeouts in a season for the ninth time in his career. His 13 for the game left him six shy of 3,000 for his career.
The Dodgers tacked on a run in the third on a walk to Betts, an errant pickoff throw from catcher Andrew Knizner and Seager’s single to center off the glove of the diving Edman.
Andrew Miller, coming off the injured list where he had landed with a recurrence of a toe blister, had a perfect sixth for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals finally broke through in their sixth when Edman and Goldschmidt both got their second hits. Edman then slid home, barely, on a passed ball by catcher Austin Barnes, who had trouble locating the ball in the dirt.
Kodi Whitey (two innings) and Daniel Ponce de Leon (one) also turned in perfect relief as the Cardinals set down the final 19 Dodger hitters. The Dodgers stranded just one runner — in the second inning.
