Dodgers 5, Cardinals 1: A.J. Ellis blasted a three-run homer and Hyun-Jin Ryu tossed seven strong innings as visiting Los Angeles took three of the four games in the series.

Ryu (11-3) yielded one unearned run with seven strikeouts without issuing a walk for the Dodgers, who remained unbeaten in their last 14 series. Los Angeles won for the 17th time in 20 contests since the All-Star break and moved 5 1/2 games ahead of Arizona in the National League West. St. Louis dropped four games behind Pittsburgh in the NL Central.

David Freese's RBI single in the fourth tied the game at 1-1 before the Dodgers pulled ahead in the fifth on Ellis’ three-run shot off rookie Carlos Martinez (0-1), who surrendered four runs over 4 1/3 innings in his first major league start. Ellis had two hits in his previous 17 at-bats before hitting Martinez's 3-1 offering into the Dodgers’ bullpen in left-center field.

Ryu won his fourth consecutive start and improved to 5-0 over his last eight outings for the Dodgers, who added an insurance run in the eighth on Jerry Hairston Jr.’s pinch-hit RBI single off Michael Blazek. Kenley Jansen struck out two in a scoreless ninth to preserve the win.

Freese had three hits and Matt Holliday and Matt Carpenter added two apiece for St. Louis, which has lost 11 of its last 15 games.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Martinez, who was promoted from Triple-A Memphis prior to the game, left with a cramp in his right index finger after allowing Ellis’ home run. … Carpenter, who has collected multiple hits in four of his last five contests, leads the National League with 44 multi-hit games. … The Dodgers have won 17 of their last 18 road games.