Back to Sport

Cardinals Rally in 10th to Beat Dodgers 8-6

St. Louis escaped a deficit with a late surge, scoring five runs in the top of the 10th to secure an 8-6 victory over Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium.

Briar Keller

September 3, 20262 min read

Dramatic Comeback - illustration, Jake Team LLC
MLBFinal
St. Louis Cardinals8
Los Angeles Dodgers6

September 3, 2026

A Decisive Late-Inning Surge

The St. Louis Cardinals completed a dramatic comeback on Thursday, September 3, 2026, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6 at Dodger Stadium. The Cardinals, who trailed 5-2 entering the bottom of the eighth, mounted a five-run offensive explosion in the top of the 10th inning to take the lead and hold on for the win. The final score reflected a high-scoring affair that featured significant late-game momentum shifts for the visitors.

Scoring Sequence Unfolds

Los Angeles took an early lead in the first inning when Freddie Freeman hit a three-run home run to center field, a 416-foot shot that drove in Shohei Ohtani and Edman. The Cardinals responded in the sixth inning with a two-run home run by Saggese to center, a 396-foot blast that scored Church. The Dodgers regained the lead in the same inning when Mookie Betts hit a two-run home run to left center, a 392-foot drive that brought in Edman. St. Louis tied the game at 5 in the seventh inning when Bernal hit a two-run home run to right center, a 377-foot shot that scored Walker. The Cardinals then took a 6-5 lead in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Burleson, which allowed Báez to score. The decisive runs came in the top of the 10th: Saggese reached on an infield single to second, scoring Fermín; Báez hit a double to left, scoring Saggese and Church; and Edman grounded out to shortstop, allowing Smith to score. The Dodgers scored their final run in the bottom of the 10th when Edman’s groundout scored Smith, though the Cardinals had already secured the lead.

Pitching and Records

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched seven innings for the Dodgers, allowing five hits and four earned runs while striking out eight batters. Justin Bruihl earned the win for St. Louis, pitching one inning with one hit and one strikeout. Brock Stewart took the loss, pitching one inning with three hits, two earned runs, and one strikeout. The Cardinals also utilized Brycen Mautz, Ryan Fernandez, Gordon Graceffo, George Soriano, Ryne Stanek, Luis Gastelum, and Riley O'Brien, who recorded the save. The Dodgers used Tanner Scott and Jack Dreyer in relief. After the game, the Dodgers improved to 82-57, while the Cardinals fell to 70-70. Attendance at Dodger Stadium was 45,900.

Sources

https://www.espn.com/mlb/game/_/gameId/401816787

Share

Briar Keller

Briar Keller covers Saratoga high school and area college sports.

Related Stories

More in Weather