Yohel Pozo’s late pinch-hit single lifts Cardinals over Dodgers

Masyn Winn and Ivan Herrera homered, and Yohel Pozo delivered a clutch, pinch-hit single in the ninth inning to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, opening their three-game series with a dramatic win.

Cardinals starter Sonny Gray bounced back from a rough stretch, allowing just one run on one hit over seven strong innings. Gray, who had surrendered 17 earned runs and 30 hits in his last three starts, looked sharp with eight strikeouts and just one walk. The victory moved St. Louis to 2-2 on their six-game road trip through San Diego and Los Angeles.



Freddie Freeman homered for the Dodgers, and Tyler Glasnow matched Gray’s effort with seven innings of one-run ball, giving up only three hits while striking out seven. It was just his second seven-inning outing in five starts since returning from a lengthy IL stint due to shoulder inflammation.


In the top of the ninth, the Cardinals broke a 2-2 tie against newly acquired Dodgers reliever Brock Stewart. Willson Contreras and Lars Nootbaar led off with singles, and Pozo followed with a go-ahead RBI single to right-center.


JoJo Romero closed the door in the bottom of the ninth for his second save, despite giving up a leadoff single to Shohei Ohtani. Mookie Betts was robbed of a hit on a diving catch by Nootbaar, sealing the win. Riley O’Brien earned his first MLB victory despite allowing the Dodgers' tying run in the eighth inning.