Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview

Tuesday night features the second of a four-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers (87-51) and the St. Louis Cardinals (69-67). The Cardinals will host this one at Busch Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 7:45 pm ET.

The Dodgers were able to take Monday’s opener 5-1. In the win, Max Scherzer was brilliant, going eight innings, allowing one unearned run, and striking out 13. Chris Taylor hit his 20th home run of the season in the victory.

The Cardinals struggled mightily in the loss on Monday. Not only did Scherzer shut them down, but Miles Mikolas was not good in his start. He gave up five runs (four earned) in five innings of work. Four of those runs came in the first inning.

The Dodgers are the favorites despite playing on the road. They are -185 to win while the Cardinals’ moneyline sits at +140. The runline features St. Louis +1.5 (-122).

Pitching Matchup

As of Monday evening, the Los Angeles Dodgers have still not announced their starter for Tuesday’s contest.

The St. Louis Cardinals will send lefty J.A. Happ to the mound to try to even the series. On the season, he is 8-7 with a 6.20 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, and has struck out 100 in 127.2 innings. In his last start, he gave up seven runs in just an inning in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

By The Number

The Dodgers have been one of the best offensively in baseball this season. They currently sit fourth in the majors in scoring, averaging 5.05 runs per game (5.32 on the road). The Cardinals rank 24th, averaging 4.18 runs (3.80 at home).

Defensively, it is again the Dodgers with the advantage. They sit atop the majors in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of just 3.48 runs per game. The Cardinals rank 14th, allowing 4.29 runs.

Cardinals Trying To Keep Postseason Hopes Alive

At 69-67, the Cardinals trail the Milwaukee Brewers by 13.5 games in the division. Their only hope of a postseason spot at this point is in the wild card. Currently, they sit 3.5 games back of the San Diego Padres, but they also have a couple of teams to leapfrog to get there.

Leading the team offensively has been third baseman Nolan Arenado. He received a day off Monday, but on the season, he is hitting .257/.313/.499 with 29 home runs, 88 runs batted in, and 66 runs scored.

Over the last couple of weeks, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has swung a hot bat. In that span, he is hitting .279/.380/.721 with five home runs and 11 runs batted in.

Dodgers Trying To Keep Pace With Giants In The NL West

Whether it is in the wild card or in the NL West, the Dodgers will make the playoffs this season. Obviously, head coach Dave Roberts would like their postseason berth to come via the division to avoid the one-game wild card series.

To do so, the Dodgers need to keep pace with the San Francisco Giants. Entering play Tuesday, Los Angeles is a game back of their division rivals.

The Dodgers’ hottest hitter as of late has been catcher Will Smith. In his last nine games, Smith is hitting .344/.462/.719 with four home runs and eight runs batted in.

Only a few players from Los Angeles have faced J.A. Happ in their careers. Most notably, Mookie Betts is hitting .200 over 35 at-bats against the lefty with a home run and four runs batted in.

Hard To Bet Against Dodgers At This Point

Even without knowing who the starter is, it is still hard to bet against the Dodgers. They are once again at, or near, the top of the majors in most statistical categories.

Furthermore, even though they have a postseason spot basically locked up, they still have something to play for as they chase the Giants.

Obviously, take a look at who the Dodgers end up plugging in to start, but the best bet is still to take the Dodgers to win on the road.