Cardinals Shut Out Dodgers to Continue Surge

The St. Louis Cardinals shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 on Friday night, with Sonny Gray pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings to extend his scoreless streak and three relievers completing the shutout. Pedro Pagés hit a two-run homer, Willson Contreras added a solo home run, and Brendan Donovan drove in two runs as the Cardinals continued their hot streak, now boasting 24 wins in their last 37 games and a 21-9 record since early May. Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski, making his second career start amid a spate of pitching injuries, allowed four runs over six innings. The Dodgers' offensive slump persisted as they went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and suffered back-to-back losses, dropping four of their last six games. Despite recent strong performances from Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, the Dodgers struggled to bring runners home. Los Angeles now faces pressing questions about both their offense and pitching depth as they approach a key series against the Padres.