The St. Louis Cardinals delivered a late-inning knockout to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon, rallying for a 5-3 victory that snapped a three-game skid. The Cardinals' offense, quiet against Shohei Ohtani's dominant four-inning start (8 strikeouts, just 1 run allowed), exploded in the final frames with clutch hits from Jordan Walker (3-for-5) and Brendan Donovan (2-for-5, 2 RBI). Walker's sharp single in the seventh broke a 3-3 tie, while Donovan's two-run knock in the eighth sealed the win—proving timely with Ohtani (1-for-3, 2 RBI) and Freddie Freeman (3-for-4) keeping the Dodgers afloat earlier.

St. Louis' bullpen stole the show after starter Matthew Liberatore's shaky outing, with Kyle Leahy (2.2 scoreless innings, 4 Ks) and Riley O'Brien (1.1 hitless frames) slamming the door. The Dodgers' usually reliable 'pen faltered—Alex Vesia and Brock Stewart combined to surrender 3 runs in the final two innings—as the Cardinals' scrappy lineup capitalized on rare opportunities. For Los Angeles, the loss stings deeper with Ohtani's two-way brilliance (HR + 8 Ks) wasted, while St. Louis gains momentum heading into their next series.