LOS ANGELES — By all accounts, there is no truth to the red-eyed reports that the St. Louis Cardinals, when they jetted away from their nightmarish turn of events Thursday, left behind a few players, marooned at Dodger Stadium …

(wait for it)

… stranded on base.

The Cardinals continue to have tremendous success against the Los Angeles when it comes to inflating their on-base percentage in this best-of-five National League Division Series. The Cardinals are getting in base, they are just having a dickens of a time getting around the bases. In two games, both losses now, the Cardinals have stranded 21 runners on base. The reason there are so many runners left on base is because the Cardinals have had so few hits with runners in scoring position. They had zero RISP hits Thursday. Zilch. Nada.

They had 10 hits in the game, double what the Dodgers had. The Cardinals also had an walk.

That’s eleven baserunners in the game, and not only the walk — an intentional walk to Albert Pujols — got a runner on base with a runner or two in scoring position. The Cardinals went 0-for-9 overall with RISP in Game 2, and their overall RISP hitting in the series is 3-for-22.

The Cardinals’ lost 3-2 on Thursday because they failed to offer starter Adam Wainwright the kind of run support he deserved. The Cardinals lost because they continue to leave runners on base, and often those runners are in scoring position. The Cardinals lost because they can string hits together, they just cannot come up with the clutch hit. They wilt. The Cardinals also lost for another reason …

“We’re not talking about any of that,” outfielder Matt Holliday said, “if I catch the ball.”

Right there was that. But that wasn’t all. So, about last night:

1. At the start of the series, manager Tony La Russa wondered aloud whether it was wise to start rookie Colby Rasmus in center field when the lefthanded hitter had struggled so mightily against lefthanded pitchers. Since spring training, La Russa has maintained that Rasmus will hit lefties in his career, he may even hit lefties next week, but the manager promised to be aware of Rasmus struggles against lefties because “you don’t want to bury him.” So, naturally, Rasmus has started both games of this division series. And he’s produced. One of the Cardinals most consistent hitters in the series, Rasmus drove in the go-ahead run on Thursday with a double off the center-field wall — off a lefty. Rasmus had two hits off Dodgers’ starter Clayton Kershaw, a lefty. But not just any left. Kershaw is a wipe-out lefty with a sizzler fastball and good command of his other pitchers. He is the kind of lefty who gives lefties fits. Rasmus got two hits off him Thursday, including the smoked double that put the Cardinals ahead 2-1. Rasmus entered the series 4-for-55 since July 21 against lefties. In this series he’s 2-for-5 against lefties with a walk.

2. Some intrigue late in the game when Kyle Lohse got up to start warming up in the bullpen. Maybe it was how Lohse was throwing or how well Wainwright was going, but something wasn’t kosher with this warmup. He wasn’t getting ready to go in the game — rather he was getting ready to go in a game. Lohse would appear to be the favorite to start a Game 4 (if necessary), especially with John Smoltz readying for a relief role Thursday and Lohse getting in that side session. One candidate isn’t mentioned there: Chris Carpenter.  The Cardinals’ righthander is “itching to get his hands back in this series,” teammate Wainwright said. Coming back for Game 4 in St. Louis would mean pitching on a day’s rest shorter for Carpenter. The righthander isn’t that familiar with pitching on short rest. In his career, he’s 1-0 with a 4.11 ERA in six games (no starts) with no starts on short rest.

3. The concept that Wainwright has pitched this season with ample run support is one being presented over and over in coverage without any context. Wainwright did win a couple games he didn’t, in a sense, deserve to win because he gave up so many runs and too many hits. Yet, the times he was without runs were stark. Six times in the regular season, Wainwright took the loss in games that he didn’t allow more than two earned runs. That was certainly the case Thursday — a no-decision for the righthander despite the fact he allowed one run on three hits in his eighth inning.

No, Thursday joins the ranks of last Friday: A start the Cardinals wanted/needed, Wainwright on the mound, and — voila! — a late-inning pell mell costs the Cardinals the victory.

Not to be outdone by Holliday’s dropped flyball in left field — what would have been the game-ending catch — was closer Ryan Franklin in the ninth. Franklin has now gone more than a month since he successful converted a one-run save. He did so on Sept. 5 against Pittsburgh. Since, he’s had one completed save and three blown saves, if you meld regular season with postseason. Franklin has struggled to notarize the ninth inning, just as he did Thursday after Holliday’s error. He still had two outs. He still was out of the thickest part of the Dodgers’ lineup. And … Franklin walked the next batter. That put the potentially game-winning run on base, and soon that runner was around the bases.

“Probably should have won that game,” Wainwright said. “I thought from the very first inning on we controlled the game. we were working good at-bats. That’s a tough way to end it.”

Off to catch my flight. Type at you from Busch Stadium this afternoon during the Cardinals’ workout. There will be no white towel-waving. It’s up to the Cardinals if there is any white flag-waving.

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