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Dodgers rip Garcia to complete sweep of Cardinals

Aug 25, 2011 - 12:12 AM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Juan Rivera hit a two-run homer and drove in two as the Los Angeles Dodgers took a 9-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals to sweep a three-game series.

A.J. Ellis hit a solo home run and drove in two while Matt Kemp scored twice and drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who came into the series having lost two of three to the Rockies. Hiroki Kuroda (10-14) was solid in seven innings to win his third straight start, as he gave up just three runs on eight hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

This was LA's first road three-game sweep of the Cardinals since August 20-22, 1993.

Gerald Laird hit a two-run homer and Skip Schumaker went 4-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for the Cardinals, who have lost five of their last six games. Jaime Garcia (10-7) dropped his third straight decision after allowing seven runs on nine hits over just five innings.

"When you get swept at home it's as bad as it gets," said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. "I don't think I have to tell you guys that we have to reverse things around here."

After Schumaker singled home Matt Holliday in the second, the Dodgers scored six times in the third.

Kemp got the scoring started with a two-run single, and crossed the plate when Rivera followed with a double. A Casey Blake single scored Rivera, with Blake moving to second on an error on the play, and James Loney followed with a ground-rule double to plate him. After Jamey Carroll singled, Ellis made it a 6-1 game with a single to left.

Ellis hit a solo blast in the fifth, the first of his career, while Rivera smacked a two-run shot in the sixth for a 9-1 lead.

"It's always good to be part of the merry-go-round when it's going," said Ellis.

Schumaker led off the seventh with a single and Laird followed with his first home run of the season to make it a six-run game, but St. Louis was unable to make up the difference. Allen Craig's pinch-hit RBI double in the ninth completed the scoring.

Game Notes

The Dodgers outscored the Cardinals 24-7 in the series...The Dodgers won the season series, 4-3...The Cardinals host the Pirates for four games starting on Thursday...The Dodgers, who went 5-5 on their road trip, return home to face Colorado for three games starting on Friday.