ST. LOUIS — The Dodgers’ offense isn’t quite fixed.
But for one day, at least, it looked less broken than before.
For the first time in almost a week, the Dodgers scored first Sunday, tagged an opposing starter with at least three runs … and, oh yeah, actually won a game, too, beating the Cardinals 4-1 to snap a four-game losing streak and avoid a series sweep at Busch Stadium.
A tour de force, this was not.
For the sixth straight game, the Dodgers (21-13) failed to hit a home run. For a second consecutive day, they also bounced into four double plays. In their last 12 games, they’ve now failed to eclipse five runs nine times.
But behind another uniquely dominant start from left-hander Justin Wrobleski — who pitched six scoreless innings, despite not striking out a batter, to lower his ERA to 1.25 –– the Dodgers’ slumping lineup found a way to do just enough.
Most of their scoring came against a familiar face in Dustin May, the homegrown Dodgers right-hander who signed in St. Louis as a free agent this offseason after being traded by the club at last year’s deadline.
It started with second-inning doubles from Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages, who capitalized on an 0-2 mistake by lofting a hanging curveball to left for the day’s opening run. Hyeseong Kim then followed with an RBI single.
In the fifth, Kim got another rally started, legging out an infield single to lead off the inning before scoring on a two-out knock from Freddie Freeman, who also came through in an 0-2 count.
That would be enough cushion for Wrobleski, who became the first Dodgers pitcher since Mike Morgan in 1991 to throw six shutout innings without striking out a batter.
From there, Will Klein, Blake Treinen and (in his latest appearance filling in at closer in the ninth inning) Tanner Scott handled the final three innings, while Alex Call tacked on a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth to put the Dodgers’ losing streak to an end.
What it means
Manager Dave Roberts described Sunday as a “gut check” moment for his club, noting that “it’s certainly not a must-win, but this is a game that we need to find a way to win.”
Presciently, that’s how the afternoon played out.
The Dodgers still aren’t slugging the ball, now mired in their longest home run drought since 2014. Their biggest bats aren’t producing, either, with Freeman, Tucker, Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández going a combined 3-for-14 with one walk Sunday.
But, the Dodgers did enough little things to win Sunday, from their three hits with runners in scoring position to a run-saving throw from catcher Dalton Rushing in the second inning when the Cardinals tried a double steal.
“We’ve got to find a way to win a game,” Roberts said. “Whatever it takes.”
Who’s hot
Wrobleski, who turned in a very Wrobleski-esque start.
As usual, the left-hander filled up the strike zone (58 strikes in 83 pitches) and hardly seemed to care about generating swing and miss (he only got four whiffs on 44 swings). Instead, he pitched to contact and worked around traffic, scattering six hits (all singles) and a walk even without a single punchout.
Since 2017, the only other MLB starter to go six scoreless without a strikeout was José Quintana in 2024. That seems fitting, with Wrobleski adopting a style similar to Quintana’s crafty left-handed arsenal –– and using it to put up stunning early-season results.
In five starts since moving into the rotation, Wrobleski has allowed just two runs in 32 innings. He only has 13 total strikeouts in that span but has still managed a minuscule 0.56 ERA.
That could be crucial for the 25-year-old’s future role, as Blake Snell nears a return from injury (he pitched four innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday). While the Dodgers haven’t ruled out moving Wrobleski back to the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever, his performances lately are making that seem borderline impossible. Sunday was just the latest example.
Who’s not
Speaking of upcoming roster decisions, Mookie Betts is expected to return from his oblique strain in the next few weeks.
That means someone from the current lineup will get squeezed out. And lately, Alex Freeland is looking like the likeliest candidate.
Freeland went 0-for-3 as the No. 9 hitter on Sunday and is now just 3-for-his-last-15 after collecting six hits the week prior. Overall this season, he is batting .232 with a .606 OPS.
Up next
The Dodgers will travel to Houston and open a three-game series with the Astros on Monday night. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-2, 2.87 ERA) will be on the mound.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
