Things have not gone well for Kenley Jansen since returning to his ninth inning post after a stint on the disabled list. Another ninth inning, another game-winning home run surrendered to the Cardinals. With the sweep, the Dodgers fall to 4 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks in the National League West.

Starting pitching has been the backbone of this Dodgers team all season long. Walker Buehler turned in another excellent outing on Wednesday, going seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts.

Relief pitching, however, has been their Achilles’ heal. Scott Alexander gave up the home run in the eighth inning that tied the game. The search for a set up guy looks like it will continue.

L.A.’s offense was non-existent and certainly did the pitching staff no favors. Joc Pederson hit his 19th homer of the season, but the only other hit in the game came in the eighth inning by Yasiel Puig. And while the Dodgers lineup is vaunted, capable of breaking out at any moment, if it doesn’t find consistency very soon, it will be too late.

No better team to help get the Dodgers back on track than a weekend series at Dodger Stadium with the Padres. Los Angeles leads the season series 9-4.

Santa Clarita High School Football

Burroughs (0-0) vs 9 West Ranch (1-0) at 7:30

The Wildcats look to move to 2-0, with the Indians coming to town for their season opener.

Santa Clarita High School Volleyball

Thursday’s schedule:

Village Christian (6-3) vs Hart (2-0)

Valencia (1-2) vs Thousand Oaks (4-0)

Heritage Christian (1-0) vs Canyon (2-1)

The Master’s University

Women’s Volleyball: Another 4-0 tournament for the Mustangs, dominating the La Sierra Tournament. They’ve lost only four sets in eight matches (8-0).

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