The St. Louis Cardinals (35-18, $1,481 ) have kicked the Los Angeles Dodgers (31-22, $59) out of the NL playoffs the last few years, the Dodgers will look for revenge as they host them in a four game weekend set in what may be yet another playoff preview with each team sitting atop their respective division.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Sunday’s game will close out the four game series as these two powerhouse teams grab the primetime spot on ESPN.
The Dodgers get to host this series which is great news for the men in blue. The team is 21-7 at home while struggling on the road. Conversely, the Cardinals are just a couple games over .500 on the road at 13-11 heading into the series.
Looking at each team’s more recent past, the Cards had a bit of a hiccup in mid-May, but have rebounded nicely winning eight of their last 10 games—including two out of three from Los Angeles—while the Dodgers have been coasting the last few weeks, going 9-12 in their last 21 games.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Perhaps the premier pitching matchup of the day, the Cardinals will send Lance Lynn to the mound against Zach Greinke.
Neither Greinke nor Lynn are considered their team’s best pitchers though it is hard to deny either pitcher’s success.
For Lynn, he takes the hill with a 4-4 mark and 3.03 ERA in 68 1/3 innings. In his 11 starts, Lynn has a 1.288 WHIP and seven quality starts. His numbers are very much in line with his career.
On the other side, Greinke may have passed Clayton Kershaw on the pecking order given his dominance and Kershaw’s rough start.
Either way, Greinke is an ace with a 5-1 record and 1.97 ERA to go along with a 0.945 WHIP in his 73 innings of work.
Greinke took 10 straight quality starts to open the year into his last start and five straight games giving up a run or less. Unfortunately, both streaks ended there as the Colorado Rockies got to him for five runs in six innings.
Don’t look for a repeat of that tonight – Greinke’s 9-4 with a 3.17 ERA against the Cards in his career.
QUOTE TO NOTE
Before an inning where they scored five against the Brewers on Wednesday, the Cardinals had scored that many in its previous 33 innings and manager Mike Matheny noted how that was the inning to snap the team’s offense out of its slump, saying:
“That’s what you talk about hopefully happening after you get a couple days without any kind of build up with our offense at all. You look at our first eight batters we had, everyone on them got a hit or did something situational to get a run in, and that’s a great way to start your day.”
LIVE/SITUATIONAL BETTING
That sort of team offense that Matheny described is exactly what the Cardinals need.
The Cardinals aren’t a team filled with power as they’ve only hit 40 home runs all season, more than only three other NL teams. What St. Louis needs to do is get everyone going and pass the baton down the line as they did in that inning on Wednesday.
Individually, Matt Carpenter (.939 OPS), Jhonny Peralta (.880 OPS), Matt Holliday (.859 OPS), and Kolten Wong (.822 OPS) are the team’s plus offensive players.
For the Dodgers, the offense is much different than that of their opponents.
Los Angeles leads all of baseball with their 74 home runs—tied with the Houston Astros. They’re also just behind Arizona in most runs scored by an NL team.
Overall, it doesn’t seem to matter who is in the lineup as everyone is producing. Injuries have claimed Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke, yet the team’s outfield of Alex Guerrero (1.017 OPS), Joc Pederson (.998 OPS) and Andre Ethier (.907 OPS) has combined for 34 home runs, but six fewer than the entire Cardinals team.
Pederson, in particular, has flashed the power bat, hitting a long ball in five straight games coming into the series.
Of course, it isn’t just the outfield that is delivering. Yasmani Grandal has a .880 OPS behind the plate. As for the infield, Adrian Gonzalez (1.020 OPS) continues to be a huge threat in the middle of the order and Howie Kendrick (.777 OPS) and Justin Turner (.873 OPS) are also producing.
PROP TALK
Of those he’s faced, Lynn has fared well against most Dodgers players, though Kendrick is 3 for 3 and Ethier is 3 for 10. He, however, has yet to face Pederson who at this point is always a fair bet to put a ball in the seats.
For the Cardinals, look for Jon Jay to have some success. While not a power or speed guy, Jay can hit and has had success against Greinke going 8 for 22.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Dodgers have the power and the Cardinals typically have the pitching, with the best ERA in all of baseball (2.62). That said, they don’t have the advantage when going against Greinke. They do close the gap thanks to a 2.14 bullpen ERA ranked first in the NL, but not enough to turn the tide. Take Greinke and the Dodgers in this prime time affair.
Los Angeles 5, St. Louis 3
The MLB odds for this game will be available first at BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers is scheduled for Sunday, June 7, 2015, at 8:05 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium. The matchup can be seen live on ESPN.
