The Dodgers will start a six-game trip in St. Louis, facing a contending Cardinals team that took two of three from them at Dodger Stadium in May and owns a 15-5 record against them since the start of the 2005 season.
The Dodgers have 20 games against teams with winning records, 14 over the next three weeks, including eight games against NL East-leading Philadelphia.
The Diamondbacks over the same stretch face only one team with a record better than .500, the Florida Marlins.
The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have six more games against each other, the first three of which will be in Arizona at the end of the month.
The Dodgers got a shaky outing Sunday from starter Jason Johnson, who gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings. But Johnson is scheduled to be replaced in the rotation Friday by opening-day starter Brad Penny, who has been sidelined for seven weeks because of a stiff shoulder.
The infusion of Penny into the rotation will come at a time when the Dodgers' lineup has been bolstered by the infusion of Ramirez, who was eight for 13 with a double, two home runs and five runs batted in in his first three games for his new team.
Ramirez drove in his first run Sunday in the first inning, his single to left scoring Matt Kemp.
He doubled to score Russell Martin to cap a three-run second inning that put the Dodgers ahead, 5-2.
Ramirez homered in the fifth and Kemp, who was three for five, hit his 13th home run of the season in the eighth inning.
"He has a relaxed feel to him, but he has a passion for winning," first baseman James Loney said of Ramirez. "You can't ask for a better teammate than that."
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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com
