The St. Louis Cardinals (18-26, 8-14 home) continue their homestand with a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers (28-16, 11-9 away). Los Angeles swept St. Louis late last month in a three-game set in the City of Angels.
The first pitch of the series opener is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. EST inside Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Los Angeles is the betting favorite (-145 on the moneyline), while the over/under total is 8.5 runs.
What to Know – Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles is one of the hottest teams in baseball coming to St. Louis, winning seven of their last eight games. The Dodgers have vaulted to the top of the NL West standings, holding a three-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Julio Urias (5-3, 3.61 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) takes the ball for the Dodgers in the opener. The left-hander has been sharp in May, winning two of his three starts and allowing just five earned runs over 19.2 innings of action. For the year, Urias has pitched 52.1 innings, surrendering 21 earned runs on 47 hits and nine walks while striking out 52 batters.
The Dodgers are 24th in the majors hitting .231 as a team while scoring 5.4 runs per game. The pitching staff for Los Angeles ranks 10th in the MLB, featuring a 3.91 team earned run average.
Max Muncy continues to rack at the plate for the Dodgers, leading the team in both home runs (14) and runs batted in (32). Freddie Freeman has added nine home runs and a team-high 35 runs scored, backed by a .310 batting average.
What to Know – St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals took two of three from Milwaukee earlier in the week and have won eight of their last ten games. St. Louis remains at the bottom of the NL Central, but the Cardinals are only 6.5 games behind the leading Brewers.
Veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright (0-0, 7.20 ERA, 1.70 WHIP) gets the nod on the hill for the Cardinals. The 41-year-old returned to action at the beginning of the month and will be looking to pick up his first win of the season. In two games of action, Wainwright has thrown 10.0 innings, allowing eight earned runs on 15 hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.
Offensively, St. Louis is sixth amongst league teams batting .263 as a team while averaging 4.8 runs per contest. The Cardinals’ pitching staff sits 16th in the league with a team ERA of 4.32.
The 23-year-old Norman Gorman is emerging as a potential future star for St. Louis. In his second season in the majors, he’s leading the organization with ten home runs and 33 RBIs. Nolan Arenado is right there as well, driving in 32 runners behind eight home runs.
The Pick is In
The Dodgers have the advantage on the pitching mound in the series opener, and we expect Los Angeles to continue to stay hot at the plate. St. Louis can hit the ball, but it’ll be a tough task for the hosts against the Dodger ace. We like Los Angeles to take care of business in this one.
The Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5
