Los Angeles, CA – Scott Van Slyke hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning on Sunday and the Dodgers defeated the Cardinals, 6-5, to complete a three-game sweep.
It was the first career home run for Van Slyke, who was called up from the minors on May 9. Andre Ethier and James Loney added an RBI apiece for Los Angeles, which beat St. Louis for the seventh straight time.
Chad Billingsley allowed five runs -- three earned -- in a six-inning start and Javy Guerra (2-3) tossed a scoreless seventh to pick up the win. Kenley Jansen faced the minimum in the ninth for his fifth save of the season.
Skip Schumaker had a two-run triple and Rafael Furcal added a pair of RBI for the Cardinals, losers of four straight overall.
Starter Kyle Lohse was charged with three runs over 5 2/3 innings and Marc Rzepczynski (0-2) gave up Van Slyke's homer to absorb the loss.
"We just have to keep going out there and find ways to win and ways to get it done, we're not doing that right now," said Lohse. "I feel like I could've pitched better, deeper into the game, so I take that responsibility."
There were two outs when Van Slyke came to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. Elian Herrera and Bobby Abreu had already reached with singles and Van Slyke began the at-bat by taking three straight balls. He was given the green light and deposited Rzepczynski's next pitch -- an 84 mile-per-hour changeup -- into the seats in left for a 6-5 lead.
"Not only hitting the home run but having it mean something and helping the team win was a little more exciting than the actual home run," said Van Slyke.
Earlier, the Dodgers went on top 1-0 when Herrera, Abreu and Ethier singled in succession in the first inning. They loaded the bases in the fourth but only managed to push one run across on Loney's double-play groundout.
The Cardinals, who left the bases loaded in the second inning, responded with a three-run fifth. Runners were at the corners after Daniel Descalso led off with a single and Furcal reached on an error by Billingsley. Schumaker then belted a triple to right and later scored on Carlos Beltran's groundout for a 3-2 lead.
Furcal added a two-run single an inning later and Loney lined a base hit to left field on the heels of Adam Kennedy's triple in the bottom of the sixth to make it 5-3.
Game Notes
The Dodgers earned their first home sweep of the Cardinals since June 7-9, 2010...They improved their major league-leading home record to 19-4...Los Angeles improved to 23-6 when scoring first in a game...The Cardinals placed Lance Berkman on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday with a right knee injury and recalled first baseman Matt Adams from Triple-A Memphis. Adams went 2- for-4.
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