Coverage of today's Cards and Dodgers game can be heard on Newstalk 97.3 WTIM beginning at 5:40pm.

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jhonny Peralta hit the tie-breaking two- 
run  double  in the  fifth inning and  the St. Louis Cardinals topped the Los 
Angeles Dodgers, 3-1, in the second contest of a four-game series. 

Yadier  Molina homered and Carlos Martinez gave up six hits and a run over the 
first  4 1/3  innings. Seth Maness (3-2)  gave up just one hit the following 2 
1/3 frames. Trevor Rosenthal pitched the ninth for his 24th save. 

The game had its share of great defensive plays. Cardinals right fielder Allen 
Craig made a sliding grab to rob Scott Van Slyke of a hit in the third inning. 
The next frame, Craig made a sliding stop of an A.J. Ellis hit down the right- 
field  line. Craig  got quickly to his  feet and threw out Ellis at second. In 
the  sixth,  Jon Jay raced  back toward  the wall in  center and made a diving 
catch to take away a hit from Juan Uribe. 

Those plays helped the Cardinals secure their fifth victory in seven games. 

"We  have  been pretty good  defensively all  season. Those defensive plays we 
made came at a good time tonight," Craig said. 

Hyun-Jin  Ryu (9-4) fanned seven over seven innings, but gave up nine hits and 
three runs to lose for only the second time in his last eight starts. 

"Ryu  was  good, he  changed speeds  and threw the  ball to  both sides of the 
plate.  They  made some plays,  they're a  good ballclub," Dodgers manager Don 
Mattingly said. 

Dee  Gordon  totaled three hits, including  an RBI single, for the Dodgers. LA 
had a three-game winning streak broken and lost for only the third time in its 
last 11 games. 

Uribe flied out to leave the bases full in the opening inning, but the Dodgers 
broke  on  top the next  frame when Gordon's  grounder into right field plated 
Ellis.  Miguel Rojas, who reached via infield hit earlier in the inning, tried 
to score on a wild pitch. Molina, though, threw to Martinez covering the plate 
in time for the out. 

Molina  homered  off the pole  in left field in  the fourth, and the Cardinals 
pushed  ahead  in the fifth.  Martinez singled to  center for his first career 
hit.  Matt Holliday singled with one out, and with two down Peralta hit a ball 
to  right-center field. Van Slyke seemed to pull up on the ball as Yasiel Puig 
was  racing  from right  to possibly  make the catch.  The ball landed between 
fielders. 

Maness  escaped  trouble in the  fifth. With two  men on base, Adrian Gonzalez 
grounded into an inning-ending double play. 

Ellis grounded into a double play to end the game. 

                                   Game Notes 

Van  Slyke was ejected  for arguing balls and strikes at the conclusion of the 
sixth  inning.  Andre Ethier replaced  him in center  field ... Ryu walked one 
batter.  Dodger starting  pitchers  have walked  two or  fewer  batters in  31 
consecutive  games,  the longest  single-season streak  in the National League 
since  the 1990  Pittsburgh Pirates' 31-game streak and the second-longest run 
by a National League club since 1914.