Following a disastrous road trip that dropped the St. Louis Cardinals farther behind in the NL Central, the hope is that a stretch of home games helps out. Smack dab in the middle of their 10-game homestand the Cards host the NL West leading Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday on TBS in the opener of a three-game set. This is the first meeting between the clubs since the wild card game last October won by LA on Chris Taylor’s walk-off homer. Unfortunately for LA Taylor won’t be around after sustaining a foot injury that’ll keep him on the shelf. He joins a long list of players on the IL yet somehow the Dodgers continue to win at a high rate.
The NL tilt between the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals is set for 7:45 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. The game will air live on TBS from Busch Stadium. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game of the MLB season.
MLB Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
Having deep pockets can get you good players. The Dodgers have a bunch of them and they also have surprising depth allowing them to win over 64 percent of their games. They extended their lead in the NL West recently taking three of four from their closest pursuer San Diego and could’ve easily had the sweep if not for a blown save from injured reliever Craig Kimbrel. Though he hasn’t joined fellow hurlers Walker Buehler, Andrew Heaney, Blake Treinen and Daniel Hudson on the IL, Kimbrel will likely be brought back slowly after taking a line drive off his back.
If there is a good thing about injuries as long as they’re not too serious it’s that players return. While most of the ailments have involved the pitching staff, Mookie Betts was a loss for the offense. He’s back in the lineup after being sidelined for two weeks and had a big game from his usual leadoff spot with a pair of hits while reaching base four times. Not that the offense needs a boost since LA averages 5.0 runs with a .761 OPS, both second in MLB. Boasting a plus-144 run differential, the best in the NL by a lot and second in MLB to the Yankees, has allowed the Dodgers to be profitable on the runline. They covered in over 58 percent of their games in the first half putting them $1249 in the black.
With guys like Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Tommy Edman, the offense should be good, and for the most part it has been. But the Cards need a little extra to make up for a pitching staff that has struggled. Dakota Hudson and Matthew Liberatore had rough outings during a stretch that saw the Cards lose six of seven games. And when it rains it pours with the offense unable to pick up the mound guys. During the same stretch of games the Cards averaged fewer than 2.5 runs and were shutout twice.
We’re only halfway through the season but at this point you are who you are for the most part. And the Cards are an average team that will likely be active around the trade deadline. They also need to stretches of poor play that have caused them to fall behind Milwaukee in the NL Central. It’s a two team race and a wild card isn’t guaranteed, even with the expanded playoff format, since the NL has a number of good teams.
Probable Pitchers
If things remain on schedule Matthew Liberatore will take the bump for St. Louis making his sixth career start. The Cards’ top pitching prospect was 3-3 with a 3.83 ERA in seven starts at Triple-A Memphis. So far there’s been no in-between for the lefty. He gave up at least four earned runs in three of his first five starts while tossing five shutout innings in each of the other two. Both those starts came at Busch where he allowed a total of six hits with 11 strikeouts. The Cards went 4-1 in Liberatore’s five starts.
The Dodgers have an All-Star rotation on the injured/suspended list allowing Mitch White to chew up some innings. He joined the rotation in May going 0-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 30.2 innings over seven starts. He was sharp in his last two outings allowing one run in 4.2 innings to the Padres and most recently giving up an unearned run to the Rockies over 5.2 frames tossing a season-high 102 pitches. White has nothing to show for the stellar work, but the Dodgers won both games. He pitched well enough to win his last four starts, but his mates scored just eight runs in those games saddling White with a ND each time.
Dodgers at Cardinals MLB Odds Pick
The Dodgers need help in the back end of the bullpen with two key players missing and a closer with a sore back. White has gone past the fifth inning just once so don’t expect much after that from him. And the Cards have the sticks to take advantage of whoever LA throws out there.
MLB Odds Prediction: St. Louis Cardinals / UNDER
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