Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) – Matt Holliday went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and two runs scored, as the St. Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series.

Yadier Molina went 2-for-4 with two RBI for the Cardinals, who have recorded 14 or more hits in each their past four games for the first time since doing so from May 30-June 2, 1979 (65 total). St. Louis had 16 hits on Thursday to bring its total to 53 over the current streak.

Albert Pujols hit a solo home run and scored twice for the Cardinals, who got five innings from starter Jaime Garcia (2-0). The left-hander gave up three runs — two earned — on eight hits.

Matt Kemp went 3-for-5 with a solo homer, two RBI and two runs scored for the Dodgers, who have lost three in a row.

LA starter Hiroki Kuroda (2-1) allowed six runs — five earned — on 10 hits over five full frames. The Japanese right-hander also stuck out three.