Sonny Gray, Cardinals blank Dodgers in series opener

Sonny Gray and three relievers combined on a shutout as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 Friday night.
Gray (7-1) worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits while striking out five and walking none. JoJo Romero, Phil Maton and Steven Matz took it from there, and Los Angeles finished 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Pedro Pages hit a two-run homer and Willson Contreras added a solo shot for the Cardinals. Brendan Donovan hit a two-run single, and Nolan Arenado went 3-for-4 with a run.
Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski (1-2) permitted four runs on six hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out five.
By taking the opener of a three-game series, St. Louis won for just the second time in five games. Los Angeles took its fourth defeat in six games.
After rain delayed the start for 1 hour, 17 minutes, Mookie Betts hit a one-out double in the first inning. However, Gray struck out Freddie Freeman and retired Teoscar Hernandez on a groundout.
The Dodgers threatened again in the second inning. Andy Pages and Michael Conforto hit one-out singles before Gray retired the next two batters.
The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in their half of the inning on a single by Arenado and Pedro Pages’ fifth homer of the season.
Gray escaped trouble again in the third inning, retiring three straight hitters after Shohei Ohtani and Betts hit singles to open the frame.
St. Louis increased its margin to 4-0 in the fifth inning. Wrobleski walked Pedro Pages and Lars Nootbaar, and a groundout advanced the runners before Donovan hit a two-out, two-run single to center.
Gray retired 10 straight batters before Hernandez hit a one-out double in the sixth inning. Andy Pages reached on a two-out infield single, but Conforto popped out to end the threat.
Betts led off the eighth inning with a single and went to third on Freeman’s double. Maton relieved Romero and shut down the rally, striking out Hernandez and Max Muncy before getting Andy Pages ground out.
Contreras homered in the eighth inning, his seventh of the year, to make it 5-0.