Clayton Kershaw tosses five solid innings, Dodgers offense sparks as Los Angeles avoids sweep

ST. .LOUIS -- The offense that seemingly disappeared the last two games against the Cardinals came alive for the last game of this three-game series as a solid performance by Clayton Kershaw, tossing five innings of one-run ball while striking out seven Cardinals, was plenty for the Dodgers to avoid the sweep and salvage the series finale by a final of 7-3. Cardinals alum Tommy Edman had a day at the plate, going 2-3, adding 3 RBI to his season total. 

It was the likes of Edman and Hyeseong Kim who threw away the narrative of the Dodgers' offensive woes to begin the game, as Edman hit an RBI single in the second. A RBI triple by Kim immediately followed that up to give Los Angeles a 3-0 lead.  

Edman struck again in the fourth as he slashed his second RBI, this time with a double, and the Dodgers were firing on all cylinders and tagging Cardinals rookie starter Michael McGreevy. St.Louis would tag on their first runs of the game by way of a Masyn Winn RBI double. Alec Burleson would follow with a sac fly and cut the Dodgers' lead in half. Mookie Betts, who has been turning the fire stove on high at the plate, provided a much-needed insurance run by crushing his ninth homerun of the season. 

Kirby Yates made his return to the mound with two outs in the seventh and runners on the corners, but quickly gave up a RBI single to Wilson Contreras to make it a 5-3 Dodgers lead. Yates would limit the damage as he would get Iván Herrera to ground out to Max Muncy at third to end the frame. Edman would take the run away as he would hit a sacrifice fly to right to push the Dodgers' lead by three. Los Angeles would tag on their seventh and final run on a wild pitch. 

The Dodgers succeed in salvaging the series finale and have a happy flight back home as they have a date with the Padres at Petco for the first time this season, beginning tomorrow. As of now, Los Angeles has Dustin May pitching the series opener against Nick Pivetta, with the Dodgers' starter to be determined for Tuesday's game against Dylan Cease. Justin Wrobleski will take the mound in the series finale against the Friars' right-hander, Randy Vásquez.