Forsythe, Dodgers win it in 13th after Kershaw duels Lynn

LOS ANGELES -- Logan Forsythe batted in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for the first time in a month and promptly struck out in his first four at-bats.

After getting a few extra innings to find his stroke, the infielder put a celebratory cap on his return.

Forsythe doubled in a run in the 13th inning to lift the Dodgers over the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Tuesday night after a stellar duel between starters Clayton Kershaw and Lance Lynn.

Forsythe returned from a DL stint with a broken toe and didn't put a ball in play over the first nine innings. He walked in the 11th, then delivered the winning hit in the 13th, a double off Jonathan Broxton (0-1) that scored Enrique Hernandez.

"You try not to focus on the negatives," Forsythe said of his early at-bats. "My swing didn't feel too bad. Something was a tick off. Lance has always had my number when I've faced him before. Yeah, I was just trying to make adjustments. I looked at some video. Not a huge video guy. Luckily, the adjustment was made and was able to deliver for the team."

Kershaw and Lynn struck out 10 batters and allowed a run each, with Kershaw going nine innings and Lynn pitching eight. The Cardinals got just three hits against Kershaw, and the Dodgers had two off Lynn, including Yasmani Grandal's homer in the first inning.

Kershaw missed out on what would have been his majors-leading eighth victory when Randal Grichuk scored from second on a wild pitch in the ninth inning. Catcher Grandal failed to block the ball in the dirt and then couldn't track down the misfire, eventually finding the ball near the Dodger dugout as Grichuk sprinted home.

"Tough pitch to block, obviously," Kershaw said. "You hope it's just a wild pitch. Just unfortunate. There's no way else to put it. The way it bounced, where it ended up. Two bases on a wild pitch, that's no fun."

Josh Fields (1-0) pitched the 13th for Los Angeles.

Joc Pederson left the game after a frightening collision with Yasiel Puig in the 10th inning. Puig made a running catch of Yadier Molina's flyball in the right-center gap before crashing into Pederson, and his left elbow appeared to catch Pederson in the side of the head. Pederson's hat and glove went flying as the center fielder slammed face-first into the outfield wall.

Puig monetarily remained on his feet, raising his glove to show he had caught the ball before grabbing his chest and dropping to the track.

Both players stayed down for a few moments, and Pederson appeared to have blood on his forehead when he finally stood. Pederson, who the Dodgers said suffered a neck sprain, was lifted for pinch-hitter Chris Taylor in the bottom of the inning, then replaced in center by Hernandez in the 11th. Puig returned to the outfield for the next inning.

"My neck is a little stiff. We'll see (Wednesday)," Pederson said. "I already did some treatment (Tuesday night). I'll come back (Wednesday) and see where I'm at."

Pederson narrowly avoided a scary collision in the seventh inning, when he and left fielder Cody Bellinger bumped each other while chasing a ball in the left-center gap.

Grandal homered to center, his fifth of the year, on a full count with two outs in the first inning.

"When it's all said and done, I made one mistake and it cost me a run," Lynn said. "But you know it's a solo homer, and you know you limit it at that and you're able to get deep in the game and give your team a chance to win."

GETTING FRIENDLY

The Cardinals and Dodgers will see plenty of each other in a short amount of time. Los Angeles travels to St. Louis for a four-game series starting Monday.

The Cardinals knocked the Dodgers out of the postseason in back-to-back years in 2013 (NLCS) and 2014 (NLDS).

"It's tough to play a (division) team 19 times and really have your way but to get outside the division and see what else is out there, we have so much respect for the Cardinals," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "And there's a little bit of history, obviously, with the Dodgers and Cardinals in the postseason. We have nothing but respect for those guys."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers: OF Andrew Toles (right knee) had successful knee surgery Tuesday to repair his torn anterior cruciate ligament. It was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. He will try to return in time for spring training.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Mike Leake (4-2, 2.03) has eight quality starts in eight starts this season. He leads the NL with a 2.03 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP.

Dodgers: LHP Rich Hill (1-1, 2.77) makes his second start since doing a DL stint with a blister. He will have had eight days off since his last start.

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