Cardinals beat Dodgers 13-8 Yamamoto set for Game 2

The St. Louis Cardinals opened their three-game series at Dodger Stadium with one of their biggest offensive nights of the season, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 13-8 on Tuesday behind five home runs and a seven-run advantage before Los Angeles had recorded its first run.

Thomas Saggese homered twice, while Ramón Urías, Jordan Walker and Joshua Báez also went deep for St. Louis. The Cardinals collected 13 hits and scored in six different innings, giving Michael McGreevy enough support to earn the win despite a late Dodgers push. MLB’s official game story confirms the five-home-run performance and 13-8 final.

The series now moves quickly to Game 2 on Wednesday. MLB currently lists Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the Dodgers’ probable starter for the 7:10 p.m. PDT first pitch, while St. Louis remains TBD and is expected to use a bullpen game. Probable pitchers are subject to change.

Cardinals vs Dodgers at a glance

Final score	Cardinals 13, Dodgers 8
Venue	Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
Winning pitcher	Michael McGreevy
Losing pitcher	Eric Lauer
Cardinals home runs	5
Top hitter	Thomas Saggese, 2 HR
Game 2 Dodgers starter	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (listed probable)
Game 2 Cardinals plan	TBD / expected bullpen game
Game 2 start	7:10 p.m. PDT

St. Louis changed the game with an early power surge

The Cardinals wasted little time putting pressure on Eric Lauer.

Urías and Saggese hit back-to-back solo home runs in the second inning to make it 2-0. St. Louis then broke the game open in the third. Iván Herrera drove in a run, and Leo Bernal marked his major league debut with a two-run single that pushed the lead to 5-0.

A Thomas Saggese sacrifice fly and Nathan Church’s RBI single stretched the advantage to 7-0 before the Dodgers finally answered.

The scale of the early damage mattered. Los Angeles never had the opportunity to settle into a close game. Every Dodgers response was followed by another St. Louis run or another long ball.

Jordan Walker answered the Dodgers’ first rally

Los Angeles cut the deficit to 7-3 in the bottom of the third when Mookie Betts cleared the bases with a double after St. Louis failed to complete what appeared to be a catchable play in right field.

Instead of allowing the momentum to shift, the Cardinals struck again immediately.

Walker drove a two-run homer to center in the fourth, restoring a six-run advantage at 9-3. Saggese then hit his second home run of the night in the fifth.

Saggese became the first Cardinal with a multi-home run game at Dodger Stadium since Albert Pujols did it during his 700th-home-run game in September 2022, according to MLB’s game story.

Báez added another solo shot in the seventh, giving St. Louis five home runs for the game.

Saggese delivered the biggest night

Saggese finished 2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBIs, three runs and a walk.

His impact went beyond the two home runs. He also contributed a sacrifice fly during the five-run third inning and later scored on a wild pitch in the eighth.

For a Cardinals team that entered the series trying to stay connected to the National League wild-card race, that kind of production could not have arrived at a better time.

McGreevy did enough with a huge lead

Michael McGreevy entered the opener with a 3.86 ERA over 142.1 innings and had already handled the Dodgers once this season, throwing six scoreless innings in a May victory.

On Tuesday he worked five innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs while striking out four and walking two.

His line was not dominant, but the Cardinals did not need dominance after building such a large lead.

The bigger concern for St. Louis came later. The Dodgers scored three runs in the ninth and forced the Cardinals to finish a game that had looked settled several innings earlier.

Dodgers showed late resistance but could not erase the deficit

Mookie Betts supplied much of Los Angeles’ offense. His bases-clearing double in the third brought the Dodgers back into the game, and another RBI double in the fifth made it 10-4.

Will Smith drove in another run in the seventh. Los Angeles then scored three more in the ninth through a run-scoring groundout, a sacrifice fly and Tommy Edman’s RBI single.

The comeback never became a genuine threat to the result, but it showed why St. Louis could not simply coast after taking a double-digit lead.

The Dodgers finished with eight runs despite trailing 7-0 and 13-5 at different points.

Why Game 2 looks very different

Wednesday’s matchup changes the equation significantly because MLB currently lists Yamamoto as Los Angeles’ probable starter.

The Dodgers right-hander enters at 12-8 with a 2.56 ERA and 153 strikeouts across 158 innings. He was especially effective in August, posting a 1.95 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 32.1 innings in five starts. Sports Illustrated’s pitching preview provides additional context on Los Angeles’ rotation plans for the series.

Yamamoto has completed at least six innings in each of his last seven starts at Dodger Stadium. However, Los Angeles has scored three runs or fewer in five of his last six home starts, leaving the Dodgers only 3-3 across those six games. Yahoo Sports’ Game 2 preview highlights that contrast between his pitching form and the run support behind him.

St. Louis, meanwhile, is listed as TBD by MLB and is expected to piece together the game with relievers.

That makes the central question for Game 2 straightforward: Can the Cardinals’ lineup carry Tuesday’s power into a much tougher matchup against Yamamoto?

Dodgers still hold the stronger season position

Tuesday’s result was damaging for Los Angeles, but it did not change the larger shape of the NL West race.

Before the series, the Dodgers were 82-55 and held a 9.5-game division lead over Arizona. They were also positioned as the National League’s No. 3 seed, behind Milwaukee and Atlanta.

St. Louis entered from a very different position. The Cardinals needed wins to keep their wild-card hopes alive after a difficult stretch.

That contrast adds weight to the remaining two games. Los Angeles is trying to protect postseason positioning and sharpen its rotation for October. St. Louis is fighting to make September meaningful.

What comes next

The Cardinals have already guaranteed that Los Angeles will have to respond after a difficult opening night.

If Yamamoto remains the listed starter, Game 2 gives the Dodgers a strong answer on paper. Tuesday demonstrated that St. Louis can create damage quickly when its young hitters are locked in.

For the Cardinals, Saggese’s two-homer performance, Walker’s power and Bernal’s debut hit turned the opener into more than a routine September win. For Los Angeles, Wednesday is a chance to reset the series before the finale.