Dodgers at Cardinals
The scuffling St. Louis Cardinals will get another chance to measure themselves against a playoff hopeful when the Los Angeles Dodgers visit for the opener of a four-game series on Monday. The Dodgers took two of three from the Cardinals at home last week and are coming off a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs.
St. Louis is 3-8 in its last 11 games and is struggling against teams from the National League West after dropping consecutive series to the San Francisco Giants, Dodgers and Colorado Rockies. The Cardinals never seemed to get their bats going in the thin air at Colorado and scored seven runs in the three-game set, leaving town on an 8-4 loss Sunday. St. Louis' lone win last week at Los Angeles came against left-hander Rich Hill, who will get the nod on Monday in a rematch against Cardinals righty Mike Leake. Hill gets to work behind an offense that managed to bail out a rare dud from ace Clayton Kershaw on Sunday and has pushed across six or more runs in seven of the last 11 games - nine wins.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, SportsNet LA, FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Rich Hill (1-2, 4.76 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Mike Leake (5-2, 1.91)
Hill continues to battle the blister issues that have plagued him since arriving in Los Angeles last summer and he could not find his control while issuing seven walks in four innings against St. Louis on Wednesday. The 37-year-old has yet to go deeper than five innings this season and surrendered five runs in four frames in Wednesday's loss. Hill's best start came on the road, when he allowed one run and struck out six in five innings at San Francisco on May 16.
Leake had little trouble with the Dodgers on Wednesday, scattering one run and four hits over a season-high eight innings to earn the win. The Arizona State product did not issue a walk in either of his last two turns - covering 15 innings - and surrendered three or fewer earned runs in each of his nine outings this season. Wednesday's win improved Leake to 5-5 with a 3.91 ERA in 11 career games - 10 starts - against Los Angeles.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Cardinals placed 2B Kolten Wong (elbow) on the disabled list Saturday and Greg Garcia hit a solo homer while starting in his place on Sunday.
2. Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger smacked his 10th home run in his 31st game on Sunday, becoming the fastest in franchise history to reach double digits in homers.
3. Los Angeles LF Franklin Gutierrez (illness) left Sunday's game in the first inning and is day-to-day.