Dodgers vs Cardinals MLB Picks: LA Clinging to NL West Lead

Dodgers vs Cardinals Odds & Prediction

The Los Angeles Dodgers (71-51) visit the St. Louis Cardinals (60-61) for a three-game series starting Friday. The NL West has suddenly become the hottest division in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers have seen their lead shrink to 2.0 games over Arizona and San Diego.

• The Dodgers have moved within 3.5 games of a wild card berth, as the NL West is the only division in MLB with four times at .500 or better.
• The Cardinals are 9.0 games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central, but only 4.0 games out in the wild card race. It’s a big series for both teams.

The Dodgers vs Cardinals MLB picks is showing Justin Wrobleski being called up to start for the Dodgers. St. Louis will counter with Miles Mikolas.

The Dodgers are -134 and the total is 9.5-under (-120).

Dodgers, Average Since Start of July

The Dodgers gave one away on Thursday and had to settle for a split with the Brewers after winning the first two games. Los Angeles is 19-17 since July 1, while San Diego is 23-11 and Arizona is 28-10.

The Dodgers have seen their offense slow down since July 1, averaging 4.67 runs per game. The team is scoring 4.94 runs per game overall. Los Angeles ranks No. 11 in team batting average and No. 3 in home runs.

Los Angeles is the No. 6 in team ERA, but has had problems staying healthy. Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler are back pitching, while Blake Treinen is closer to returning. Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw a short bullpen session earlier this week and could throw some batting practice on Friday.

The Dodgers are the No. 7 in bullpen ERA, but are letting too many games slip away. The Dodgers have 37 saves, but 25 blown saves. They need to get better efforts from the set-up pitchers and closers. The Dodgers are still the favorite in the World Series predictions, but it’s looking a little more sketchy than it did a month ago.

Cardinals Need More From Offense

St. Louis is averaging 4.10 runs per game, which is a bit below the MLB average of 4.43 runs per game. The Cardinals are No. 13 in team batting average, but No. 23 in home runs. St. Louis is No. 23 in walks, so it drops down to No. 18 in on-base percentage.

The Cardinals do score a little more at home at 4.28 runs per game. The MLB scores show St. Louis scores 4.14 runs against left-handed starters and they should see two of them in this series.

St. Louis is No. 19 in team ERA, although the relief pitchers have been strong and the Cardinals are No. 9 in bullpen ERA. The Cardinals have 41 saves in 60 opportunities, so they’re doing a decent job closing out games.

Friday’s Game

ESPN was the first to report Wrobleski as the starter for LA, although there’s an outside shot the Dodgers could go with Bobby Miller. Wrobleski seems like the best option, however. He started four MLB games earlier this season and is 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA. The Dodgers were 1-3 in the games Wrobleski started, but he didn’t get much help from the bullpen.

St. Louis is 12-12 when Mikolas starts and 4-6 when he starts at home. The Cardinals are 7-3 in totals when Mikolas pitches at home. The team allows 6.0 runs per game, although part of that is due to some shoddy relief pitching.

Both pitchers are showing strong over trends, but St. Louis is 2-6 in games where the total is higher than 9 and the Dodgers are 4-7 when not playing in Colorado. We are going against the grain here and trying the under 9.5.

Saturday’s Game

• Tyler Glasnow was pushed back a day and will get the start here. He’s having a solid season and is the Dodgers’ leading candidate in the Cy Young race, but is a longshot at +7000. He’s 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA and LA is 14-8 when he starts, but just 4-4 when he starts on the road.

The Dodgers vs Cardinals MLB picks have Andre Pallante making the start for the Cardinals. He’s gone 4-6 with a 4.21 ERA and St. Louis is 5-7 when he starts. St. Louis has lost the last five games he’s started. After scoring five or more runs in four of his first five starts, the Cardinals haven’t scored five runs in Pallante’s last seven outings.

Glasnow will be a decent-sized favorite in this one, but the Dodgers are really the only way you can go here.}

Sunday’s Game

Clayton Kershaw and Sonny Gray are the scheduled starters for Sunday’s finale. Kershaw is 1-2 with a 3.50 ERA and Los Angeles is 2-2 in the four games he’s started. His last outing against Milwaukee was solid and he could be finding his form.

Gray is 11-7 with a 3.93 ERA for the Cardinals, who are 13-9 when he pitches. After a strong start to the year, Gray has come down to earth a little bit. Over his last seven starts, Gray is 2-2 with a 5.86 ERA.

The Dodgers vs Cardinals MLB picks will take Kershaw in this spot. He’ll likely be a small favorite over Gray, but he’s pitching better of the two starters right now.

Dodgers vs Cardinals H2H

For MLB picks, betting analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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