Yohel Pozo delivers pinch-hit RBI single in 9th inning to send Cardinals past Dodgers, 3-2
After Willson Contreras got a leadoff single off new Dodgers reliever Brock Stewart (2-2), pinch-runner Garrett Hampson eventually scored on a soft single to right by Pozo. The Cards' backup catcher celebrated enthusiastically after just his second hit in his last eight games.
Sonny Gray yielded one hit over seven stellar innings for the Cards, and two relievers combined on a perilous three-hitter for St. Louis.
Riley O'Brien (1-0) earned his first career victory at 30 years old despite blowing a lead in the eighth. JoJo Romero then got his second save despite giving up a leadoff single to Shohei Ohtani, retiring Max Muncy on a line drive to right with two on for the final out.
Gray had an entertaining duel with Tyler Glasnow, who gave up three hits in seven innings of one-run ball for Los Angeles.
Iván Herrera hit a two-out homer in the eighth for St. Louis, but Teoscar Hernández doubled and scored the tying run on two groundouts in the bottom half for LA.
Masyn Winn ended his 32-game homer drought in the Cardinals' third victory in nine games.
Freddie Freeman homered for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who fell to 7-9 since the All-Star break with another tepid offensive performance in their return from a mediocre nine-game road trip.
After Ohtani's single, Lars Nootbaar made a spectacular diving catch on Mookie Betts' tailing fly to the right field line.
Glasnow is winless in nine starts since March 31 despite posting a 2.17 ERA since his return last month. He retired 17 of his final 18 batters without a hit.
Miles Mikolas (6-8, 4.83 ERA) pitches for St. Louis against Emmet Sheehan (2-2, 3.60 ERA) on Tuesday.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a few seconds ago
- Yahoo
Phillies pitcher José Alvarado apologizes for performance-enhancing drug suspension as he nears return
José Alvarado is just about ready to make his return to the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies after serving an 80-game suspension for failing a performance-enhancing drug test. On Tuesday, two weeks out from when he can make his official return, Alvarado apologized for his suspension on social media. 'I am fully aware that using prohibited substances is wrong and I would never intend to do so because I have always had great respect for the game, my organization, my teammates and the fans, all of whom I want to offer my sincere apologies,' he wrote on Instagram, in part. 'I made a mistake and therefore, I have faced the consequences set forth by MLB. Going forward, my focus is on working hard to help the team win. 'Once again, I offer my deepest apologies to the Phillies organization, my teammates, my family, my country Venezuela, the City of Philadelphia and the fans who have always supported me, especially the children and young people.' Alvarado tested positive for exogenous testosterone and was suspended on May 18. The Phillies said the test was due to a weight loss drug he took in the offseason. As he's a first-time offender, under MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy, he was hit with an 80-game suspension. A second violation would earn a 162-game suspension, and a third would result in a lifetime ban. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Alvarado is in his ninth season in the league and his fifth with the Phillies. He's in the final year of a three-year deal he signed with the team in 2023, and he's losing $4.5 million this season as a result of his suspension. The Phillies have a $9 million option on him in 2026. Alvarado held a 2.70 ERA with seven saves and 25 strikeouts in 20 innings before his suspension. He is eligible to return on Aug. 19, though he will be ineligible for the postseason. The Phillies beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-0 on Tuesday, which pushed them to 65-48 on the season and extended their small lead over the New York Mets for first place in the NL East. The franchise is attempting to reach the postseason for a fourth consecutive season, something they haven't done in more than a decade.
Yahoo
a few seconds ago
- Yahoo
Cubs president Jed Hoyer admits Michael Soroka trade 'not looking like a good bet' after only 5 days
Occasionally, MLB executives will acknowledge a deal didn't go their way. Some moves just don't work out and they can admit that. What you never see, though, is an executive publicly regret a deal less than a week after making it. So Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer entered some new ground on Tuesday, five days after acquiring starting pitcher Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals at the MLB trade deadline. In return, the Nationals received prospects Christian Franklin and Ronny Cruz, the Cubs' No. 13 and 14 prospects on MLB Pipeline. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Soroka made his Cubs debut on Monday and lasted only two innings, exiting due to what was described as right shoulder discomfort. The next day, he was placed on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain. Hoyer opted to speak to the media in the wake of the move, and admitted the deal already looked much less attractive than before: "We spent a lot of time on that. We knew the velocity was trending down. We obviously talked through that extensively. Given the market, given the asking price and given all those different things, we felt like it was a good bet to make. Ultimately, he came off the mound last night and right now, it's not looking like a good bet. "That's our job to make bets on these things. Doesn't mean he's not going to help us the rest of the year, we're still waiting on the medical stuff." As Hoyer pointed to, a major red flag was Soroka's velocity. After sitting around 94 mph for the first three months of the season, his average velocity on four-seamers nose-dived, going from 93.7 mph on July 10 to 91.7 mph on July 18, then 90.9 mph on July 23. He averaged 90.8 mph before exiting his start on Monday. A multi-tick velocity drop is a classic red flag for an underlying medical issue with a player, to say nothing of the basic drop in effectiveness. The Cubs still went through with the deal and parted with two real prospects to do it. Hoyer was candid in his explanation for why they did that, while also reflecting the dehumanizing nature of MLB roster moves: "Earlier, he was sitting a much higher velocity. It was coming down and we were trying to get to the bottom of what exactly that was. He had the MRI before that. That risk profile was known and we decided, given the asking price and given the fact we felt he was a notch above the other guys we were talking about in terms of talent and development opportunities, we felt it was the right risk. "We make bets on human beings and sometimes they work out ... We did a lot of due diligence, a ton of research, and if it doesn't work out, that's on me. That's the job." As far as how Soroka's pre-trade MRI looked, Hoyer acknowledged that "there are no clean MRIs" for veteran MLB pitchers, whose ligaments carry a lifetime of wear-and-tear and can give way without warning. Chicago was likely attracted to Soroka's peripherals much more than his surface stats, as his 4.87 ERA in D.C. hardly screamed a deadline upgrade. Baseball Savant had his xERA (which combines strikeout, walk and batted ball data to determine what a player's ERA should be) at 3.32 at the time of the trade, and it wasn't a big leap to think he would perform better in front of the Cubs defense, which is good, than the Nationals defense, which is bad. Soroka's way forward obviously now depends on how his new round of imaging looks. Even if it comes back fine, a move to the bullpen could be in his future between his performance on the mound and injury risk.
CBS News
2 minutes ago
- CBS News
Chargers bring back Keenan Allen after one season with Bears
The Los Angeles Chargers agreed Tuesday to terms with six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen. Allen returns to the team that drafted him in 2013 after one season with the Chicago Bears. He is second in Chargers history for both receptions (904) and receiving yards (10,530) for a wide receiver. The Chargers traded him to the Bears last offseason for a fourth-round draft pick. Allen had 70 catches for 744 yards and seven TDs in Chicago. Allen reunites with quarterback Justin Herbert, who made the 33-year-old wide receiver his favorite target in their time together, with Allen catching 24 TD passes. Allen joins a wide receiver corps that is different than in recent years. Ladd McConkey returns for his second season after breaking Allen's single-season rookie record for catches and yards. They also have Quentin Johnston, Tyler Conklin and rookies Tre' Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith after free agent Mike Williams suddenly retired before the start of training camp. Allen started 138 of 144 games for the Chargers in his first stint with the team. He had a record-setting season in 2023, making a single-season franchise-record 108 catches.
