DODGERS WALLOP CARDS AS DEJONG GOES DOWN

Don't think for a minute that Mike Shildt took the signing of Brad Miller for granted. In the midst of their 9-2 drubbing at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, his appreciation quickly came into sharper focus. 

"I've thought so many times since he came on board, hey, here's a guy with almost 400 games of major league shortstop experience," said Shildt after Tuesday's game. "Now, that background is going to prove so important."

The sad reality hit in the fifth inning today, as Paul DeJong came up lame in legging out a routine grounder. What appeared initially to be a major hamstring strain may sideline the starting shortstop for quite awhile.

While the Cardinals have other options in the system, none come with anywhere close to Miller's MLB stature. He's handled over 3,000 innings at short, and handled the final four of the Cards' eight innings of defense Tuesday night.

With DeJong moving to the injured list, the Cards recalled infielder Edmundo Sosa from their triple A affiliate Memphis. With Paul Goldschmidt still injured and Rangel Ravelo remaining on the farm, the team may try some unconventional approaches to backup Matt Carpenter, already the backup first baseman.

While contemplating all this, the Cards didn't show much life at Dodger Stadium. either from the mound or the batter's box.

Austin Gomber may not survive in the rotation after this outing, his second in a row without much success. Homers to Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy and Mookie Betts, in that order, torched Gomber for seven runs in four and two-thirds innings.

The last two runs from the home team came on a string of three hits in the eights against lefty Tyler Webb. 

"He had a tough one today, and we're going to evaluate how to best get him back on track," said Shildt. "We'll have a chat and make a plan. We also want to get Waino back into the mix," referring to Adam Wainwright, who hasn't appeared since the home opener.

The only offense for the Cardinals against the Dodgers pitching staff came from a two-run Kolten Wong. He delivered a lefty-on-lefty pulled poke over the right-field fence against starter Alex Wood, who went seven innings with little stress. Blake Treinen took the last two innings for the Dodgers.

Next Up and Notes: The St. Louis rotation is well rested, after the abbreviated split in Chicago over the weekend owing to the Sunday night rainout. Jack Flaherty will face Clayton Kershaw, one of four lefties in the LA order. on Wednesday, and Friday's victor Dakota Hudson will go against Walker Buehler Thursday.