Syndergaard gets first win in 6-3 victory over the Cardinals

Noah Syndergaard made his first win in a Dodger uniform memorable in a way he probably never thought he would. It was his first win as a starter without recording a strikeout.

Perhaps this might something to watch since he had two wins last year for the Angels where he recorded just one strikeout.

The last time a Dodger starting pitcher collected a win without recording a strikeout was on June 7, 2010. Carlos Monasterios pitched six plus innings and did not strike out any of the St. Louis Cardinals he faced that day.

The 6-3 win also meant this was the first three-game home sweep over the Cardinals since August 5-7, 2019. They also moved into a first-place tie with Arizona at 16-13.

Syndergaard got one out in the sixth inning and left the game without recording a strikeout. The Cardinals did get several hard-hit balls, some of which resulted in the eight hits off Syndergaard, but were only able to score three times.

The Dodger bullpen did a great job today, Caleb Ferguson, Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol, Yency Almonte and Evan Phillips pitched 3⅔ innings of scoreless baseball to preserve the win.

The Cardinals scored first in the second inning. Wilson Contreras singled with one out and Alec Burleson followed with a double. A sacrifice fly drove in Contreras and Brendan Donovan got a two-out single to make it 2-0.

In the bottom of the inning, Jason Heyward led off with a hustle double to right. A fly ball and Miguel Vargas ground out halved the Cardinals lead.

The Dodgers took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, walks to both Heyward and James Outman put two runners with no outs. Vargas drilled a ground ball that was turned into an out but both runners moved up. David Peralta was able to score the tying run on a ground out. And then Chris Taylor drove in the second run of the inning on a line double to left.

Cardinals tied it up after Tommy Edman led off with a double and Lars Nootbaar tied the game again with a single.

However, the Dodgers again scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to retake the lead. Zack Thompson, who had replaced Jake Woodford in the fourth inning, was back on the mound. A spinning pop up turned into a double for Will Smith. Walks to both Max Muncy and Heyward loaded the bases. After a James Outman strikeout, Drew VerHagen came into the game.

VerHagen would throw a wild pitch to give the Dodgers the lead and then after Vargas walked, Peralta hit another run-scoring ground out to give the Dodgers a two-run lead.

The Dodgers were able to add some insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out, Taylor singled and Betts walked. After the Cardinals brought in Ryan Helsley, a wild pitch led to an intentional walk to Freddie Freeman. Will Smith’s sacrifice fly gave the Dodgers a three-run lead they would not relinquish.

Sunday particulars

Home runs: none

WP — Noah Syndergaard (1-3): 5⅓ IP, 8 hits, 3 runs

LP — Zack Thompson (1-2): ⅔ IP, 1 hit, 2 runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout

Sv — Evan Phillips (3): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 strikeout

Up next

The Dodgers continue their home stand with three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies beginning Monday night. Tony Gonsolin is scheduled to make his second start of the season and the Phillies will have Taijuan Walker going on the mound for them.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and it will be on SportsNet LA.