Dodgers 5, Cardinals 1: Grandal’s dinger nets win, even as team sets stupid record

After getting shelled in his last start for 10 runs and 12 hits, Carlos Frias bounced back in a big way, going seven strong innings without allowing an earned run. Frias scattered five hits and two walks while striking out three, and he kept the damage to a minimum by inducing 10 groundball outs, including the ball Howie Kendrick booted that led to the only run Frias surrendered.

Speaking of errors, Scott Van Slyke made an amusing gaffe in left, but it was at least partially fueled by the rain that delayed this contest for almost 2 1/2 hours.

Following a slow start, the Dodgers offense also got underway, which was desperately needed. The team actually set a franchise record for consecutive road scoreless innings going back to the Giants series.

#Dodgers road scoreless streak at 42 innings, establishing new franchise record. Also, Michael Wacha has a #NoHitter through five innings.

— Dylan Hernández (@dylanohernandez) May 31, 2015

Of course, that’s meaningless since the Dodgers won two series at home between that, but it’s always nice to set records! I guess.

At one point, Michael Wacha was actually throwing a no-hitter, but he ran into trouble in the top of the sixth, as Justin Turner doubled, Adrian Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, and Kendrick drove in Turner with a sharp line-drive single to right to tie the game. Yasmani Grandal followed with the death blow for Wacha and the Cardinals by hammering a three-run homer to left-center field.

Welcome back, indeed.

Why did Mike Matheny not go to Randy Choate to face Andre Ethier and turn around Grandal in that situation? Who knows, but I’m thankful he didn’t.

In the eighth, the Dodgers tacked on an insurance run with a single from Alberto Callaspo, which means the Dodgers clearly won the trade already. Fortunately, the Dodgers didn’t need insurance today, as Yimi Garcia and Adam Liberatore both had their stuff, and they combined to strike out five of the seven batters they faced, with Liberatore allowing only a groundball single.

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-Yes, Frias got a hit. No, he obviously didn’t do it by swinging.

ELITE SPEED

-Aside from Grandal on offense, Turner and Kendrick both reached three times today.