Cards give Dodgers too many chances

ST. LOUIS — One night after letting a plethora of scoring chances go untapped, the Dodgers capitalized against Mike Leake early on Saturday and then coasted to a 7-2 victory over the Cardinals. The win kept the Dodgers ahead of the Cardinals in the National League Wild Card race and halted St. Louis’ winning streak at five.

The Dodgers recovered from an exhausting, 16-inning loss quickly enough to even the three-game series at Busch Stadium. All nine players in L.A.’s starting lineup had at least one hit off Leake, who allowed a career-high 12 over his six innings. Five of those came in the third, when the Dodgers utilized three infield hits to generate some momentum before Justin Turner punctuated the four-run frame with a two-run double.

Los Angeles added another three runs in the sixth, which opened with an Adrian Gonzalez homer. A misplay by first baseman Matt Adams on a cutoff throw compounded the inning, just as the Cardinals’ inability to get an out on a squeeze play had back in the third. In both instances, the Dodgers turned an extra out into an extra run.

The Dodgers had as many hits with runners in scoring position (five) as the Cardinals had all night off unfamiliar starter Kenta Maeda. Though Maeda fell one out shy of his 12th start of six or more innings, he limited the Cardinals to a pair of runs en route to winning his ninth decision.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDSqueezed out: Kenta Maeda had gone 18 at-bats and 11 starts without an RBI until the third inning. He …

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