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Peralta, Wacha lead Cards over Dodgers

Jun 5, 2015 - 5:45 AM Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jhonny Peralta went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, Michael Wacha threw seven innings of one-run ball, and the St. Louis Cardinals downed the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-1 in a battle of first place teams.

The only loss suffered by Wacha (8-1) this season came against the Dodgers last week, and he rebounded by limiting them to seven hits in the rematch. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.

"Michael had a good game plan going. His cutter was as good as I've seen and he did a good job of mixing it up," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

Jason Heyward and Kolten Wong both had two-run hits, and the NL Central front- runners built off a 7-2 homestand by winning the opener of this four-game set.

Dodgers starter Carlos Frias (4-3) pitched into the seventh inning but not before surrendering five runs -- three earned -- on 10 hits and three walks.

"Carlos showed a lot of heart. We couldn't have asked for more," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said of his starter.

He would have made it out of the third unscathed had it not been for Justin Turner's two-out error. The Cardinals took advantage with three straight singles, with Peralta and Mark Reynolds each driving in a run.

St. Louis tacked on three more runs in the fifth. Matt Holliday plated Wong with a sacrifice fly, and Heyward's two-out, two-run base hit made it 5-0.

Joc Pederson nearly homered for a sixth straight game, which would have set a modern Dodgers record, but his drive to left field in the third inning caromed high off the wall and he settled for a double.

The emerging rookie was called out on strikes with runners on second and third in the fifth, and the Dodgers only pushed one run across an inning later after loading the bases. Alex Guerrero's sac fly brought in Adrian Gonzalez, and Jimmy Rollins grounded out harmlessly to end the threat.

Wong's two-run double in the eighth accounted for the final score.

Game Notes

Wacha improved to 6-0 in seven road starts this season ... The Cardinals recorded 12 hits to the Dodgers' nine ... Gonzalez hit his league-leading 21st double.