Yoshinobu Yamamoto faces Cards after wild historic night in LA
The St. Louis Cardinals crushed the Los Angeles Dodgers 13-8 on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, setting a franchise scoring mark there with five homers. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was next on the mound Wednesday, seeking run support after a low-scoring stretch despite his strong August ERA.
Key Takeaways
- St. Louis scored a franchise-record 13 runs at Dodger Stadium in a 13-8 series-opening win Tuesday night.
- Prospect Leo Bernal's first MLB hit exited at 107.6 mph; Thomas Saggese posted a multihomer game in L.A.
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto was slated to start Wednesday still scoreless in 11 career innings versus the Cardinals.
- Despite a 1.95 ERA in August, Los Angeles had scored three or more runs behind him only twice in his past six starts.
What made the Cardinals' night at Dodger Stadium historic?
In a report from MLB.com, St. Louis piled up 13 hits and five home runs while scoring in six different innings to open the series. The 13-8 result was the Cardinals' first time scoring 13 or more runs at Dodger Stadium in their 337th game there, including the postseason.
Manager Oli Marmol praised the club's "looseness" and fearless approach in a big market. The last time St. Louis scored 13-plus on the road against the Dodgers was in 1954 at Ebbets Field, and the club's high remains 15 runs on May 30, 1960, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
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Which four numbers defined St. Louis' offensive outburst?
107.6: Cardinals No. 7 prospect Leo Bernal, called up for his MLB debut Tuesday, delivered a two-run single with the bases loaded in the third for his first career hit. The 22-year-old's ball left the bat at 107.6 mph.
Walker's 28th home run of the season, a Statcast-projected 409-foot blast at 109.3 mph in the fourth, was also his 55th career homer and came off his 55th different pitcher. Elias Sports Bureau data mark that as the second-longest such streak to start a career since at least 1900, behind Willy Adames (57).
15: Thomas Saggese became the 15th Cardinal with a multihomer game at Dodger Stadium. The Carlsbad, Calif., native entered with four career home runs in 134 games and left with six in 135, with his dad in the stands. He is the first Cardinal to do so there since Albert Pujols hit Nos. 699 and 700 on Sept. 23, 2022.
13: Those franchise-record 13 runs at the venue capped an all-around attack Marmol said came "a lot of different ways" against a strong Dodgers pitching group.
Why does Yoshinobu Yamamoto matter after that blowout?
True Blue LA noted the Dodgers' eight runs Tuesday still could not cover shaky pitching from Eric Lauer and the arms that followed. Yoshinobu Yamamoto drew the Wednesday assignment at Dodger Stadium, with first pitch at 7:10 p.m. on SportsNet LA.
In his previous start, Yamamoto worked 6 1/3 innings and allowed only a leadoff homer to Atlanta's Drake Baldwin while matching Chris Sale. His August ERA was 1.95, yet he went 1-2 as Los Angeles scored three or more runs behind him only twice in his past six starts, with five of those games decided by one run.
Yamamoto has faced the Cardinals twice and has yet to allow a run in 11 innings pitched, a thin margin the Dodgers hoped their bats could finally widen after Tuesday's fireworks.