Welcome to the big leagues, kid.
Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam home run off St. Louis rookie starter Mike Mayers, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cardinals, 9-6, on Sunday night at Busch Stadium.
Mayers was making his Major League debut and needless to say it was as disastrous as could be as the 24-year-old right-hander got rocked, allowing nine runs on eight hits in just 1 and 1/3 innings.
Most of the damage was done in the first inning as the first three batters of the game reached base for the Dodgers' butter and egg man, Adrian Gonzalez. The power-hitting first baseman slugged his 299th home run of his career, a grand slam to give LA the 4-0 lead.
The Dodgers tacked on two more runs as starting pitcher Scott Kazmir hit a two-run single up the middle as LA batted around off Mayers in the first inning.
The six runs were all that Kazmir (9-3) would need as he cruised to his ninth victory of the season allowing three runs on six hits with three strikeouts in five innings.
The Cardinals mounted a comeback with two runs in the second inning and three runs in the seventh inning to cut the gap to 9-6.
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Tommy Pham hit a two-run home run in the second inning and Matt Holliday and Stephen Piscotty both hit RBI doubles in the game.
Howie Kendrick hit a two-run home run for LA to extend his hit streak to 16 games and Gonzalez finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored.
Adam Liberatore allowed three runs in relief in the seventh inning, snapping his streak of 28 consecutive scoreless appearances, a franchise record.
The victory moves the Dodgers within three games of the first place San Francisco Giants in the NL West after their rivals lost to the Yankees 5-2 on Sunday in New York.
Players of the Game:
Adrian Gonzalez: 3-for-5 with a home run, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Howie Kendrick: 2-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBI.
Tommy Pham: Two-run home run.
Three Takeaways:
1. End of an ERA: Adam Liberatore allowed three runs in a 1/3 inning of relief on Sunday, snapping his 28-game scoreless appearances streak, a Dodger franchise record. Liberatore's ERA jumped from 0.55 to 1.35 within a single inning.
With that sacrifice fly, Adam Liberatore's run of 28 straight scoreless games is now over. He set the franchise record. — Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) July 25, 2016
2. Let's Go Streaking: Howie Kendrick had a home run and a double and extended his hitting-streak to a season-high 16 games. Kendrick's streak is the second longest in the National League this season behind teammate Corey Seager.
16-game hitting streak for Howie Kendrick — Eric Stephen (@truebluela) July 25, 2016
3. Hot Start: The Los Angeles Dodgers tied their record for the most runs scored in an inning (6) set on June 18th in the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the first time the Dodgers have scored six runs to start the game this season.
#Dodgers 6 runs in the first inning tonight were the most runs scored in an inning this season and most to start the game this year. — Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) July 25, 2016
Up Next:
Dodgers (56-44): Los Angeles will have an off-day on Monday as they head back to LA for a brief two-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Cardinals (52-46): St. Louis travels to New York where they will take on the Mets on Monday.
