Cardinals 3, Dodgers 2
Matt Holliday homered and drove in all three runs to back a strong start by Lance Lynn as host St. Louis took the opener of the three-game series.
Lynn (11-6) took a shutout into the seventh, allowing two runs in six-plus frames while striking out nine. Kolten Wong stayed hot with two hits and two runs scored for the Cardinals, who have won the first game after the All-Star break in seven straight seasons.
Dan Haren (8-7) suffered his third straight loss after giving up three runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. A.J. Ellis had an RBI and a run scored as the Dodgers fell to 10-20 at the new Busch Stadium.
Wong, who had five home runs in his final eight games before the All-Star break, doubled with one out in the bottom of the first inning and Holliday followed with a line-drive double off the base of the center-field wall to make it 1-0. Wong singled with one out in the fifth and Holliday got to Haren once again, hammering a shot well over the wall in center for a 3-0 lead.
Ellis got the Dodgers on the board in the seventh with an RBI double and later scored on a wild pitch by reliever Seth Maness. All-Star Pat Neshek stranded a pair of runners to get the Cardinals through the eighth and Trevor Rosenthal coasted through the ninth for his 29th save.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Dodgers recalled LH Paco Rodriguez from Triple-A Albuquerque and activated IF Justin Turner from the 15-day disabled list. ... Holliday scored his 1,000th career run on the homer and the double was his 400th all-time. ... Haren has a 9.64 ERA during his personal three-game slide.