The St. Louis Cardinals (48-43, 27-19 home) and Los Angeles Dodgers (57-30, 27-17 away) battle is the series rubber match on Thursday night, the final meeting between these two playoff contenders until September.
St. Louis captured the opener with a 7-6 victory, and the Dodgers came back on Wednesday night to hand the Cardinals a 7-6 defeat.
The first pitch of the series finale is at 7:15 p.m. EST inside Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Los Angeles is the betting favorite at -160, and the over-under is nine runs.
What to Know – Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles continues its assault on the opponents in the first half of the season, winning eight of their last ten contests. The Dodgers own a comfortable 8.5-game lead in the National League West.
The southpaw Tyler Anderson (9-1, 3.15 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) is the probably starter for the visitors. The 32-year-old is tied for sixth in the majors in wins and looks to post his third straight quality start. Anderson has thrown 91.1 innings, allowing 32 earned runs, 79 hits, 15 walks, and striking out 77.
The offensive firepower is situated all through the L.A. lineup, but the All-Stars are at the top with Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts. Turner leads the team with 65 runs batted in, and Freeman has driven in 56 of his own. Betts is back in the lineup after a stint on the IL but still leads the team with 20 home runs.
Los Angeles is second in the NL and fourth in the majors with a .254 batting average, scoring 5.1 runs per game. The Dodgers’ pitching staff is the best in the NL, sporting a 3.04 team earned run average.
What to Know – St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis continues to stay neck and neck with the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central as the division race has become a two-team battle. The Cardinals are 4-6 over their last ten and two games back of the Brewers.
Right-hander Dakota Hudson (6-5, 4.00 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) takes the ball for the Cardinals. Hudson aims to lock in his first victory in July in his final start before the All-Star break. The 27-year-old has logged 90.0 innings, surrendering 40 earned runs, 80 hits, 41 walks, and 50 strike outs.
Paul Goldschmidt leads St. Louis in numerous offensive categories, including batting average (.332), home runs (19), and RBIs (67). The start to the season has Goldschmidt back in the All-Star game for the first time since 2018. Nolan Arenado will join his teammate as an All-Star thanks to 18 home runs and 58 RBIs.
The Cardinals average 4.5 runs per contest, hitting .251 as a team which is eighth in the MLB. The pitching staff for St. Louis sits 12th in the league with a 3.79 team ERA.
The Pick is In
These two teams might meet again in the postseason, but we will settle for a rubber match in the final week of the first half. Expect both teams to score some runs against these pitchers, but the strength of the Dodgers lineup prevails.
The Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers ML
