St. Louis Cardinals @ Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers -180

Game Total: 8.5

Game Play Predictions

St. Louis Cardinals

- The Cardinals are red hot right now, as they have won eight of their last 10 games and are now tied for an NL Wild Card spot. They have scored four or more runs in 11 of their last 12 games.

- The Cardinals come in at or above league average in several offensive categories. They are 12th in runs scored, 12th in batting average, 12th in on-base percentage and 16th in slugging percentage.

- Since the start of August, the Cardinals have a .347 wOBA and a .155 team ISO vs left-handed pitchers, along with a low 16% strikeout rate.

- Matt Carpenter has only one home run in his last seven games but comes in with a .299 ISO vs left-handed pitchers this season.

- Daniel Poncedeleon will be making only his second start for the Cardinals this season after having a few relief appearances. He comes in with only four earned runs in 17.2 innings pitched while racking up 10 strikeouts in that span.

- Jose Martinez has hits in 10 of his last 11 games with five of those games being multi-hit games. He has two home runs, two doubles and eight RBIs in that span.

Los Angeles Dodgers

- The Dodgers come in with some of the best pitching numbers in the entire league, as they are top five in several categories. They are 3rd in ERA, 2nd in quality starts, 2nd in WHIP and 5th in batting average against.

- They are also one of the better offensive teams, as they are 6th in runs scored, 7th in on-base percentage, 5th in slugging percentage and 20th in batting average.

- The Dodgers are struggling right now with only three wins in their last 10 games, along with scoring four or fewer runs in eight of those games.

- The Dodgers come in with an implied run total set at 4.90, which is fifth highest on the board tonight.

- Hyun-Jin Ryu will be starting for the Dodgers tonight, who will be making his second start since coming off the DL. In his first start, he went six innings, while racking up six strikeouts and allowing no runs.

- Manny Machado has hits in five of his last six games with two home runs and six RBIs in that span.

- Max Muncy has home runs in two of his last three games, along with having a four-game hitting streak in the works.

Gameplay Props

1.) Either team scores in the 1st Inning 4.5/1.8

The odds are so good on the YES for this one, that it’s truly hard to pass up. The Dodgers have a high implied run total and up against a very inexperienced pitcher.

2.) Both teams combine for 2 or more hits in the 1st inning 3.5/2

The odds are relatively close on this one, but I’m going with NO on this one. Ryu looked good in his first start back so we could see a slow start from the Cardinals.

3.) Either team has a 3up, 3 down inning 3.4 2.1

Firmly going YES on this one. Great odds on this and with the general variance in baseball, three up three down isn’t that uncommon.

4.) A STL batter reaches a full count 3.7/1.9

As I mentioned above, the Cardinals aren’t striking out a ton right now, so with them taking a lot of pitches, we could easily see a full count.

5.) LAD records a 1 pitch out in the 1st 5/1.5

I really want to go YES on this one, since the odds are so good. Since they are up against a very young pitcher, they could be aggressive at the plate and swing early in the count, leading to a quick out.

6.) 2 or more STL batters reach base or strikeout in the 1st inning 3.2/2.2

NO on this one for me. Ryu doesn’t walk a ton of hitters and the Cardinals aren’t striking out a lot, as I mentioned.

7.) STL leadoff batter reaches base safely 4.5/1.7

This one really depends on who is leading off for the Cardinals. If Carpenter is leading off I want YES, if he isn’t, likely going with No.