Dodgers manage just four hits in 2-1 loss to Cardinals

ST. LOUIS — Well, that didn’t work.

Frustrated by the underachieving offense, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made immoderate changes to the lineup Thursday afternoon. Mookie Betts moved backmost to leadoff, swapping places with Trea Turner. Corey Seager and Will Smith – 2 players not complicit successful the violative struggles – got the time disconnected on with slumping Chris Taylor.

That near Cody Bellinger and his impossibly atrocious OPS-plus of 44 (100 is average) batting 5th and lone 1 batter with an mean implicit .195 (.220-hitting Austin Barnes) successful the 5th done ninth spots.

The results were painfully predictable for the Dodgers. The 5th done ninth spots successful the bid went 0 for 17 and the Dodgers mislaid to the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 astatine Busch Stadium.

After winning the archetypal 2 games successful St. Louis, the Dodgers near with a divided of the four-game bid connected the heels of a bid nonaccomplishment successful San Francisco.

The Dodgers near Los Angeles a week agone tied with the Giants atop the NL West, assured they were surging. They instrumentality having gone 3-4 connected the seven-game travel and fallen 2 1/2 games backmost successful the division.

The lineup operation Thursday made it wide the Dodgers were going to person to bash their harm astatine the apical of the lineup. In the 3rd inning, the archetypal 4 hitters each reached basal – Betts walked, Max Muncy doubled, Trea Turner singled successful Betts, and Justin Turner walked.

That produced the Dodgers’ lone tally of the day. They had conscionable 2 different hits successful the crippled – a first-inning, two-out treble by Trea Turner and a azygous by Betts successful the fifth. The lone baserunner from the bottommost 5 spots successful the bid came successful the seventh inning erstwhile Albert Pujols drew a locomotion arsenic a pinch-hitter for the pitcher – aft getting an extended lasting ovation successful what could beryllium his past sheet quality successful St. Louis.

During the bid against the Cardinals, the Dodgers’ last 19 batters were retired successful bid Monday, Adam Wainwright retired 22 of 23 Dodgers astatine 1 constituent Wednesday, and 14 of the last 15 Dodgers were retired Thursday with conscionable 1 deed aft the 3rd inning.

In their past 20 games – during which they person gone 13-7 – the Dodgers person deed .202 arsenic a squad and averaged 3.75 runs per game.

Meanwhile, different parade of Dodgers pitchers turned successful its accustomed stout effort. Six pitchers held the Cardinals to conscionable 5 hits.

In his archetypal commencement since returning from the injured list, Tony Gonsolin gave up a tally successful his 3 innings, showing amended fastball velocity (94.6 mph) than helium had earlier going to the IL with his enarthrosis occupation and getting 11 swings-and-misses.

The quality successful the crippled was a solo location tally by Tyler O’Neill successful the 5th inning disconnected Dodgers reliever Phil Bickford. The 362-foot thrust cleared the left-field partition with nary country to spare.