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Cardinals get to Kershaw, Dodgers for fourth straight win

Apr 17, 2011 - 6:10 AM Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Allen Craig went 3-for-4 and blew the game open with a three-run homer off Clayton Kershaw in the fifth inning, helping the Cardinals to a 9-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Kyle McClellan (2-0) pitched seven strong innings, allowing six hits and a run. Miguel Batista and Eduardo Sanchez finished up the rest of the way.

"Today is the best I've felt all season. When nobody's on I'm going to be aggressive," McClellan said. "Tonight I felt I had the ability to pitch out of jams."

Ryan Theriot had three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, who have won four in a row and six of their last seven games. On Sunday, they'll try to complete a four-game sweep at Dodger Stadium for the first time since July 1-4, 1968.

St. Louis has outscored the Dodgers, 29-9 so far in this series.

Kershaw (2-2) was charged with six hits, five walks and five runs over 4 2/3 innings as the Dodgers faltered for a fifth straight game.

"It was one of those nights, they're swinging the bats well and fouled off a lot of pitches," Kershaw said. "I walked some guys and that home run did us in."

Andre Ethier had three hits and scored once for the Dodgers, who have dropped five in a row. They went 1-for-14 with men in scoring position and are 6- for-33 in this series.

Albert Pujols singled and Matt Holliday walked, both with one out in the fifth. With two down, Craig blasted a homer barely over the wall in left field for a 5-1 lead.

"It was a 2-1 count, he threw me a slider and got it up," Craig said. "It was more of a reaction. It's not easy to come off the bench, but I'm more prepared this year."

Home plate umpire Joe West warned both benches after Tyler Greene was hit by a Mike MacDougal pitch in the back in the sixth inning. Greene stole third later in the inning on an errant pickoff throw, scoring when the ball went into center field.

Greene singled in Craig in the eighth, and Matt Kemp plated Casey Blake with a base hit in the bottom half.

The Cardinals scored twice in the ninth with five straight hits off Ramon Troncoso. Included in that were RBI singles from Holliday and David Freese.

The Cardinals wasted a bases-loaded, one-out chance in the second when Greene and McClellan both struck out, but they filled them again in the third and squeezed out a run on Freese's sacrifice fly.

Theriot's double plated McClellan in the fourth, but the Dodgers got that run back in the bottom half on James Loney's RBI groundout.

Game Notes

Prior to the game, the Dodgers recalled Troncoso from Triple-A Albuquerque and placed pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo on the 15-day disabled list due to a left lower back strain...Ethier has a 13-game hitting streak...The Cardinals had 13 hits. Prior to this game, they had 14 or more in each of their previous five contests...McClellan is 3-0 lifetime against the Dodgers.