Anderson rolls through Cards for 10-1 record

ST. LOUIS -- A visit to Busch Stadium likely wasn’t high on the list of most anticipated trips for Tyler Anderson this season.

Entering Thursday, the Dodgers lefty was 0-2 with a 7.90 ERA in three career starts against St. Louis. And the Cardinals had feasted on Los Angeles’ starting pitching in the first two games of the series, forcing the offense to try to run them down.

Anderson reversed course for both trends, tossing six scoreless innings and allowing just three hits and two walks in a 4-0 win, handing his team the series victory and closing his first half with a sparkling 10-1 record -- the first time he’s recorded double-digit wins.

• Box score

“Tonight, there were guys saying, ‘Let’s get ahead for once. Let’s get ahead and stay ahead,’ and we did, and it was fun,” Anderson said.

Yency Almonte, Evan Phillips and Craig Kimbrel followed Anderson on the mound, each throwing an inning to complete the combined five-hit shutout in which no St. Louis runner advanced to third base.

“I pitched bad against them in the past, but I feel like the numbers were a little skewed,” Anderson said. “It's just one of those things that, no matter what it is, you got to go out there and throw strikes, execute your game plan regardless of who’s on the other side.”

Freddie Freeman wrapped up a torrid series with two hits, one walk and one run scored. He came to the plate 14 times in the three games, reaching base safely in 12 of those appearances. Among his nine hits against Cardinals pitching were three doubles (including his club-high 30th of the season Thursday) and a home run.

Freeman also wrapped up a stretch in which he went 13-for-15, becoming one of only two Dodgers since 1974 to meet that mark -- joining Rafael Furcal from 2007.

“You usually don’t think you’re ever going to get into one of those, because it's so hard to get into a zone when you face three or four pitchers a game,” Freeman said. “You don’t talk about it. You just try to ride it as long as you can.”

With Dodger Stadium set to host All-Star festivities next week, the Dodgers have only two games remaining before the midsummer break. Neither Freeman nor catcher Will Smith -- who recorded an RBI for the sixth consecutive game -- were named to the NL All-Star squad, and even though both played down any disappointment, manager Dave Roberts stands by their production and sees an opportunity for motivation.

“I don't think that either player will admit it,” Roberts said, “but … anything a player can use to motivate them to get through the grind of the season, I think, is a benefit, and certainly those guys use it maybe as a little fuel. And we're the recipients and beneficiaries.”

Gavin Lux drilled a Statcast-projected 402-foot home run to the back of the Cardinals’ bullpen in the seventh, doubling the lead and chasing St. Louis starter Dakota Hudson from the game. The homer was just Lux’s fourth of the season but the second in his past seven games.

With a long trip home to the West Coast on Thursday’s late-night agenda for the Dodgers, it was Anderson’s execution that limited any unnecessary drama. Dylan Carlson’s two hits and a walk represented the only trouble for Anderson, and even then, a strong throw from Mookie Betts in the sixth nabbed Carlson trying to stretch a single into a double to spark the Cardinals' sluggish offense.

“I feel like Mookie was the player of the game for the sixth-inning defense,” Anderson said. “It was amazing.”

In the first two games of the series, the Cardinals put the Dodgers in significant holes early. Los Angeles trailed 6-1 after four innings in the series opener, and 6-0 after six innings in the second game, lending to late heroics Wednesday.

“I like having a lead and tacking on,” Roberts said. “Those guys kept it close, and even in the end, they were a couple hitters away from making it even a little bit more tight. But yeah, just to play with the lead and have the bullpen do what they did tonight was really good.”