Los Angeles Dodgers: Former Cardinal leads to a win

The Los Angeles Dodgers salvaged one out of three games against the Cincinnati Reds and enter a big series on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were able to avoid a sweep on Wednesday with an offensive showing that resulted in eight runs and 11 hits. The bullpen was particularly great as well as the Dodgers allowed just one run without a true starter in the contest.

Ross Stripling did get the starting nod but lasted just three and one-third inning. Stripling allowed the run on a Jose Peraza home run in the first inning. Luckily, that was the only run and the Dodgers managed to respond.

Although there were a lot of hits and runs on the board, the Dodgers were carried by four bats on Wednesday. Joc Pederson, Justin Turner, Yasmani Grandal and Yasiel Puig accounted for 10 of the team’s 11 hits and all seven of the runs batted in.

Now, the Dodgers make the trip to St. Louis to avenge a sweep that the Cardinals handed the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in August. Meanwhile, the first place Colorado Rockies are finishing up a four-game series with the Diamondbacks on Thursday before hopping on the road to play the San Francisco Giants.

This is a big time for the Dodgers to gain ground as the Rockies are coming off a 10-game homestand and now have a nine-game road trip. With three of those games coming in Chavez Ravine after this series, this series truly is shaping up to be season-defining.

Remaining at least where the team currently is will be huge. If the Dodgers manage to move up a game in the division or even take the division lead, it could be the making of another NL West title.

Either way, the Dodgers need to string together some wins, time is running out. For our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak selections, Sarah and I had very similar thinking as to who will propel the Dodgers to victory.

Sarah’s pick — Current streak 0: David Freese

My pick for tonight is the new guy, David Freese. Not only has Freese hit a homer off of tonight’s starter for St. Louis, Austin Gomber, but he is very familiar with the Cardinals, as it’s where he spent the first 5 years of his major league career.

Moreover, Freese spent another two and a half years in the same division as the Cards, playing with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now, every game is a must-win for the Dodgers, and they need to play this series not like the first two games in Cincy, but how they played in yesterday’s 8-1 win.

Jason’s pick — Current streak 1: David Freese

With a southpaw on the mound, the Los Angeles Dodgers are most likely going to throw David Freese into the starting lineup and for good reason. Freese has been great for the Dodgers in his short tenure in LA and will have a particular fire lighted underneath him in his return to St. Louis.

Freese played as the road team in St. Louis plenty of times as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates but this is going to feel different. Both teams are deep into playoff races and this series will be huge for both sides.

Even if the Los Angeles Dodgers cannot catch the Colorado Rockies, winning three games here would at least put the Dodgers in a tie for the second Wild Card spot with the Cardinals. If the Dodgers manage a four-game sweep, they will be the team with a two-game lead.

Granted, if the Dodgers sweep the Cardinals, the team will likely move into sole possession of first in the NL West.

However, it is never bad to have cushion in both the division and the Wild Card. With all of the stakes involved, David Freese is going to rise to the occasion as he usually does.