Cardinals 3, Dodgers 1
ST. LOUIS -- Call it Carlos Martinez's tribute to former teammate and countryman Oscar Taveras.
On the day the St. Louis Cardinals honored the late Taveras with a pregame ceremony, Martinez channeled his emotions into seven powerful shutout innings Sunday, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 at sold-out Busch Stadium.
While warming up in the bullpen, Martinez (5-2) appeared to wipe tears from his eyes as a tribute to Taveras, who died last October in an auto accident in the Dominican Republic, played on a video board.
Martinez then allowed just one hit -- a second inning single to right fielder Andre Ethier -- and walked three with eight strikeouts. Martinez hasn't allowed a run in his last three starts, covering 20 1/3 innings.
Martinez's only real jam came in the sixth, when he issued one-out walks to Pederson and third baseman Alberto Callaspo. But Martinez fanned first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and second baseman Howie Kendrick, pounding his fist against his chest after getting Kendrick to chase an 0-2 breaking ball.
Center fielder Joc Pederson belted a two-out solo homer off reliever Kevin Siegrist in the eighth, enabling Los Angeles (29-20) to avoid its fifth shutout in six road games. But that was it for the struggling Dodger offense.
St. Louis (33-17) scored the only runs it would need in the first when shortstop Jhonny Peralta cracked a two-run homer into the Los Angeles bullpen in left field, his eighth of the year.
Starter Brett Anderson (2-3) held the Cardinals down for the rest of his six innings, giving up five hits and two runs with three walks and five strikeouts. Anderson also picked two runners off first base.
Peralta tacked on insurance in the eighth with a bloop single to right off reliever Jimi Garcia, scoring pinch-hitter Jon Jay from second with the game's final run.
Closer Trevor Rosenthal worked around two walks to Ethier in the ninth for his 15th save, fanning third baseman Justin Turner looking to end it. Turner was ejected for arguing the call by plate umpire Marty Foster.
NOTES: St. Louis LF Matt Holliday (flu-like symptoms) was scratched from Sunday's lineup about two hours before the game. Holliday started Saturday night's rain-delayed game but left after four innings due to illness. ... Los Angeles RF Andre Ethier needs just one RBI to move past former teammate Matt Kemp for fifth in L.A. franchise history (648). ... Entering Sunday's game, Dodger starters lead the National League in May with a 3.04 ERA.