LOS ANGELES (AP) — Carlos Martinez outpitched Brett Anderson again during their second low-scoring duel in six days, and the St. Louis Cardinals scratched across a pair of runs in the eighth inning to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Friday night.
Martinez (6-2) allowed his only run in the second inning on a bases-loaded walk to power-hitting rookie Joc Pederson. The right-hander gave up three hits and had a career-high 11 strikeouts while helping to lower the Cardinals’ major league-best ERA to 2.57.
Last Sunday, Martinez held the Dodgers to one hit over seven innings and struck out eight in a 3-1 victory over Anderson, which followed an emotional pregame tribute to Martinez’s late teammate and best friend Oscar Taveras, who was killed in a car accident in October.
