Cardinals knock off Dodgers in opener

Michael Wacha wins again as Cardinals cruise

You didn’t think Michael Wacha was going to lose for the second time in a row, did you?

Wacha was unstoppable on Thursday as the St. Louis Cardinals began their current road trip with a 7-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

St. Louis gained a half-game on the idle Pittsburgh Pirates but couldn’t put more ground between itself and the Chicago Cubs, who downed the Washington Nationals 2-1.

Wacha improved to 8-1 overall as he scattered one earned run on five hits and lowered his earned run average to a robust 2.18. Kevin Siegrist and Carlos Villanueva each pitched one inning to finish out the game.

The middle of the lineup paid off handsomely for the Cardinals. Jhonny Peralta managed three hits against the Dodgers, and Kolten Wong had a pair of hits, including his 12th double of the season.

RBI singles by Peralta and Mark Reynolds gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead in the third inning. The Cards put three on the board in the fifth inning off a sacrifice fly by Matt Holliday and a two-run single by Jason Heyward.

Wong’s double scored two runs and closed out the scoring for the Cardinals in the eighth inning.

The Dodgers got a sacrifice fly from Alex Guerrero in the sixth inning for their only run of the game.

St. Louis now has a three-game winning streak and still maintains a healthy lead in the National League Central.

Up next

The series continues on Friday with a 10:10 p.m. contest. Carlos Martinez, who has thrown 20 1/3 scoreless innings in a row, will try for his second win over the Dodgers in as many weeks. Martinez carris a 5-2 mark and 3.13 ERA into the game. Brett Anderson (2-3, 3.42) pitches for the Dodgers.

Next: Steve's opinion: The Cardinals will be all right