LOS ANGELES — Cody Bellinger had a grand slam and six RBIs as the Dodgers scored 11 times in the bottom of the first during a 14-3 blowout over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night in Dodger Stadium.
The 11 runs marked the Dodgers’ highest-scoring inning in a regular-season game since the franchise moved to Los Angeles.
Bellinger, who missed most of the first two months of the season due to a hairline fracture in his right leg, led the onslaught with a franchise-record six RBIs in the inning. After Paul Goldschmidt homered to put St. Louis ahead 1-0, Bellinger’s two-run single gave Los Angeles a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, he hit his sixth career slam, as his drive off Jake Woodford‘s fastball just cleared the wall and Justin Williams‘ glove in right field.
The 11-run inning surpassed the previous mark of 10, which had been done at least four times, most recently in the first inning on April 25, 2008, at Colorado. It was the second time in less than a year the Dodgers had an 11-run first. They put up the same number in Game 3 of last year’s NL Championship Series against Atlanta.
Mookie Betts also had two hits, including a bloop double leading off the inning, as the Dodgers sent 14 batters to the plate in the first. They didn’t make an out until pitcher Walker Buehler struck out on a foul bunt. By that point, Los Angeles was up 6-1 and had benefited from a pair of St. Louis errors.
Zach McKinstry had a two-run single, and Justin Turner and Betts also had RBIs in the inning. The Dodgers had seven of their 10 hits in the first and led 11-1 at the end of the inning.
St. Louis starter Carlos Martínez (3-5) went two-thirds of an inning. He faced 12 batters and was lifted when a walk to Turner loaded the bases. The right-hander allowed 10 runs on six hits with four walks and a strikeout in the second-shortest start of his career.
Buehler (4-0) went six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts. The right-hander also delivered a two-run double in the fourth to extend Los Angeles’ advantage to 13-2.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Dodgers scored 11 or more runs in an inning in a regular-season game was Aug. 8, 1954, when Brooklyn had 13 in the eighth inning of a 20-7 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
The last time they scored at least 11 runs in the first in a regular-season game was when they put up 15 on May 21, 1952, also against Cincinnati.
It was also the most runs scored in an inning in a regular-season major league game since the Atlanta Braves had 11 in the second against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 9, 2020.
The last time the Cardinals allowed a double-digit inning was the second inning on April 13, 2000, against Colorado, when the Rockies scored 10.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.