There was nothing routine about the Dodgers’ 7-3 victory over the Cardinals on Thursday night. But L.A. feasted on St. Louis in the middle innings to capture the series between playoff hopefuls.
Kenta Maeda looked rusty in his first game back after a forced rest, and allowed three runs in the first inning.
He settled down, but down 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth and with Maeda at 69 pitches, Logan Forsythe was on the on-deck circle to bat for the pitcher, with Hyun-jin Ryu warming in the bullpen, waiting his first major league relief role.