LOS ANGELES — Michael Wacha made his first start for the Cardinals since July 4 on Monday night. When, or if, he will start again is now the question.
Wacha, who has gone back and forth between the rotation and bullpen, failed to get through the fourth inning as the Cardinals fell to 0-3 on their current trip to California. They have not had a lead at the end of an inning in any of the three games.
Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer off Wacha to put the Cardinals behind just four batters into the game and Wacha allowed four more runs, two of which scored after he left with two outs in the fourth.
The Cardinals have two days off in the next seven days, so they could elect to skip the fifth spot in the next time through the rotation.
The offense did not do much either, collecting only two hits. The 8-0 loss marked the Cardinals worst shutout loss in Los Angeles since they lost 9-0 on July 12, 1992.
Here is how the game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals did not have a hit until Kolten Wong doubled with two outs in the fifth off rookie Tony Gonsolin. Their only other hit was a one-out single by Dexter Fowler in the sixth … It was only the second time since 1996 the Cardinals had been held to two hits or less in a game at Dodger Stadium. They had only one hit against Clayton Kershaw in a 2-0 loss on June 6, 2015 … The Cardinals had only three other baserunners in the game – Marcell Ozuna reached on a walk in the second; and in the eighth Wong was hit by a pitch and Lane Thomas walked … Matt Carpenter was in the leadoff spot again and was 0-of-4, although one of his outs was a fly ball to the warning track in left.
On the mound: Wacha allowed 11 Dodgers to reach base while recording 11 outs. It’s the second time in three games the Cardinals’ starter failed to get through the fourth inning … Adelberto Mejia relieved Wacha in the fourth and gave up a two-run double to Justin Turner, with both inherited runners charged to Wacha. He also allowed two more runs in the fifth … Ryan Helsley pitching for the first time since he was recalled from Memphis, worked three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and pitching around four walks.
Key stat: Fowler’s single left him 1-of-3 in the game with two strikeouts. In his 15 starts since July 17, Fowler is just 8-of-54, a .148 average.
Worth noting: Yadier Molina hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs during his rehab start Monday night in Memphis … It was the last game on the homestand for Memphis, so it’s possibly Molina will play a couple of games this week in Springfield. All indications are he still is likely to be activated when the Cardinals return home on Friday night … The win improved the Dodgers home record to 44-15.
Looking ahead: Miles Mikolas will get the start for the Cardinals on Tuesday night while Kershaw is scheduled to start for the Dodgers.
