Blake Hawksworth made his first major league start last night for the Cardinals and it’s one he would rather forget in a 12-4 loss to the Dodgers. Hawksworth pitched four innings and allowed six runs on seven hits with three walks with five strikeouts.
PJ Walters came in and had just the about the exact line, four innings, six runs on seven hits and three walks, just one strikeout. Ryan Ludwick hit two solo home runs off Dodgers starter Carlos Monasterios who helped hold Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday to an 0 for 7 night. The Reds lost to the Giants, so both teams are still tied on top in the central.
Ludwick made it a 2-1 game in the second with his eighth home run after the Dodgers jumped on Hawksworth for a 2-0 lead in the first. A leadoff single from Rafael Furcal and a stolen base put him in scoring position for Matt Kemps’ RBI single. Then a wild pitch and single moved Kemp to third. Hawksworth got Manny Ramirez to ground into a double play to escape with just two runs.
However, in the fourth, the Dodgers caught up to Hawksworth again after he gave up a lead off double to Manny and later a two run double to Furcal. Walters then got hit with a four run fifth inning to blow the game open.
Monasterios is now 3-0 with the Dodgers. He gave up three runs with two of the four hits he allowed being solo blasts from Ludwick, his 8th and 9th of the year.