Gonzalez homers, Turner has 2 RBIs; Dodgers beat Cards 7-2
ST. LOUIS (AP) Justin Turner spent Saturday night proving his skipper right.
The red-hot Turner went 2 for 5 and his two-run double in the third proved to be the winning RBI as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat St. Louis 7-2 to end the Cardinals' five-game winning streak.
Turner's double capped a four-run third. He has 14 RBIs since the All-Star break.
Before the game, manager Dave Roberts called Turner a legitimate middle of the order hitter. Turner, who is hitting .378 since the All-Star break, reinforced those words with action.
''He's huge,'' outfielder Joc Pederson said. ''He comes up big in situations, a great hitter and puts ball in gaps and over the fence that knock in runs that are key, key runs for us.''
Adrian Gonzalez hit his eighth home run - a 429-foot solo blast to center - to spark a three-run sixth.
Kenta Maeda (9-7) rebounded from a poor outing against Arizona on July 17, giving up two runs over 5 2/3 innings. Only one of the Cardinals' first 15 batters was able to hit the ball out of the infield against the Japanese right-hander.
Maeda helped himself with an RBI bunt single to start the third-inning rally. Maeda said through an interpreter that the early lead gave him confidence.
''It helps me attack hitters, but at the same time since they did give me the early lead I want to throw a little more,'' Maeda said.
Andrew Toles went 3 for 4 and scored once for the Dodgers. He has reached safely in nine of 10 games since being called up from the minors.
''He can hit, he can defend and he can run,'' Roberts said. ''And that element of speed is something we definitely don't have so to have that dynamic is fun.''
Leake (7-8) allowed seven runs - six earned - in six innings. He was victimized by a mental error on Maeda's single when second baseman Greg Garcia failed to cover first on the bunt attempt.
''I wasn't hitting my spots as well tonight,'' Leake said. ''They were ready for mistakes. I think they had a pretty good approach tonight and they were jumping on me early. I just wasn't placing the ball exactly where I wanted it.''
Matt Adams homered for the second consecutive game. His blast to left in the fourth extended the Cardinals' streak of home runs to 14 games.
Aledmys Diaz reached safely for the 26th straight game with a first-inning single. Diaz's streak is the second-longest by a Cardinals rookie since Albert Pujols had streaks of 30 and 48 games in 2001.
The loss dropped St. Louis' home record to 25-29.
After going just 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position in Friday's 16-inning loss, Roberts was happy with the offensive production.
''I think that offensively as a team we're trending in the right direction,'' Roberts said. ''It's about knowing you can win baseball games when you're not playing your best. I think our focus has been much better on just the day-to-day and I think if we can continue that we'll be OK.''
ANOTHER FRESH FACE
The Dodgers recalled RHP Ross Stripling and optioned LHP Grant Dayton to Triple-A Oklahoma City after Friday's game created a need for a fresh arm in the bullpen.
TRAINING ROOM
Dodgers: OF Yasiel Puig (hamstring) did plyometrics and sprint work. Roberts did not rule out a start Sunday.
Cardinals: IF Matt Carpenter (right oblique) took swings, but there is no timetable for his return.
UP NEXT:
Dodgers: LHP Scott Kazmir (8-3, 4.30 ERA) allowed one run in seven innings against Washington in his last start on July 19. He is 2-0 with a 3.20 ERA in three career starts against St. Louis.
Cardinals: RHP Mike Mayers will make his major league debut in primetime after going 3-3 with a 2.94 ERA in nine starts at Triple-A Memphis. With Mayers' start, St. Louis will become the last team in the majors to use a starter outside of the starting five that opened the season.