C-Mart hit hard in Dodgers' 11-run first

LOS ANGELES -- The hit parade against Carlos Martínez on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium was seemingly endless. Before the right-hander even managed to record an out, eight men had reached and six runs were in.

Martínez recorded just two outs before getting lifted, his night coming to an end with 39 pitches thrown, 19 for strikes. Reliever Jake Woodford then promptly gave up a grand slam to Cody Bellinger, which capped the 11-run frame for the Dodgers, who ended up handing the Cardinals a 14-3 loss.

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“[Martínez] just wasn’t able to command his pitches like he’s used to -- balls found some holes, obviously, some balls hit hard, and he just wasn’t able to get into any kind of rhythm, wasn’t able to stop the damage,” manager Mike Shildt said. “More balls than strikes, some close misses. Just wasn’t his night.”

In all, Martínez was tagged for 10 earned runs on six hits and four walks. It was easily his shortest start of the season, as he’d gone at least five innings in his previous nine games. It was also his shortest start since Sept. 25, 2015, when he exited after facing two batters with a right shoulder injury that brought an end to his season.

Injury didn’t appear to be the problem for Martínez on Wednesday, though. There was no noticeable downtick in his velocity, which is usually the biggest medical red flag for pitchers. In fact, part of why Shildt lifted Martínez when he did is to avoid an injury to another starter, after having lost Jack Flaherty to a left oblique strain the day before.

“I’m not going to have Carlos, who’s pitched well for us all year, just pitch him to pitch him when we’ve got some arms that [are fresh in the bullpen],” said Shildt. “I mean, it’s not a great scenario, clearly. We don’t want to get into our bullpen in the first inning and get 7 1/3 out of it, but I can’t just let the guy go out there and die on the vine and next thing you know, something happens and he comes up and is not able to make his next start or has some issues moving forward.”

It’s been a grueling stretch for the Cardinals, who are nearing the end of a span with 17 games in 17 days and no days off. The loss concluded a 10-game, three-city road trip in which the Cards played .500 ball. They return to Busch Stadium at 31-25 and 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Cubs, who completed a sweep of the Padres earlier in the day.

“I don’t like to put limits on anything -- you’d like to go 10-0,” said Shildt. “But .500 on the road on a West Coast trip that’s 10 days … we always want more, but we can live with playing .500 on the road on that kind of trip, for sure.”

St. Louis will now host a four-game set against the Reds, who are currently in fourth place in the National League Central, seven games out of first place and 5 1/2 games behind the Cardinals. Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium might not have been ideal, but the fact that Shildt was able to get multiple innings out of three of the four relievers he used -- Woodford, Seth Elledge and Junior Fernández -- allowed the more high-leverage guys to get the night off so that the 'pen can be at nearly full strength for the upcoming series with Cincinnati.

“It’s what part of their opportunity is, it’s part of their job, to be able to do that. And thankfully, they were able to do their job,” said Shildt. “And all four of the relievers had two days off, which allowed us to extend them. Now we’re in pretty good shape for tomorrow. You’d always love a starter to go seven or eight, but we were able to cover the innings, and did the best we could.”