ST. LOUIS — The Dodgers might have staged another stirring comeback Thursday night but Tyler Anderson made it unnecessary.
Anderson pitched six scoreless innings as the Dodgers shut out the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0, taking two out of three in the series at Busch Stadium.
The Dodgers have won nine of their past 10 games and 13 of their past 15, leaving the rest of the National League West fading in the distance as the All-Star break nears.
Thursday was the first time in six games the Dodgers scored first and the first time since Saturday that they hadn’t fallen behind by at least five runs. They won five of those six games including two of the three they trailed by at least five runs.
Their starting pitchers in those previous three games — Julio Urias, Mitch White and Tony Gonsolin — combined to allow 16 runs in 12 innings, putting the Dodgers in the trail position each time.
Anderson put an end to that skid. He gave up just three hits and walked two. No Cardinal got past second base against him and only two even got that far.
Anderson was not named to the National League All-Star team despite his 10-1 record. Neither were Freddie Freeman nor Will Smith. If the Dodgers had a few more players not make the All-Star team, they might be unstoppable.
Freeman and Smith each went 2 for 3 on Thursday. For Freeman, it was his fourth consecutive multi-hit game since not being named to the NL team on Sunday. The major league leader with 111 hits, Freeman has gone 13 for his past 16, reaching base in 16 of his past 19 plate appearances.
He doubled in the fourth inning (his 30th of the season in just the 88th game) and scored the first run of the game on an RBI single by Justin Turner.
Two innings later, Smith drove in Trea Turner with a two-out double. Since his All-Star snub on Sunday, Smith is 6 for 16 with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs.
Whatever slights might be fueling them, Gavin Lux has apparently been holding his own grudge since mid-June. Lux hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning, chasing Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson. Over his past 17 games, Lux is batting .358 (19 for 53) with six extra-base hits (two doubles, two triples and two home runs).
Yency Almonte, Evan Phillips and Craig Kimbrel closed out the five-hit shutout with one scoreless inning each. Phillips has not been charged with an earned run since May 26.
