Game Preview: Dodgers Try to Avoid Sweep At Home Against Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
Time: 7:10 PM PT
Venue: Dodger Stadium
St. Louis Record: 70-57
Los Angeles Record: 67-60
How are the Dodgers Doing?
The Dodgers have dropped their eight of their last 11 games, after falling to the Cardinals, 5-2. Los Angeles recorded nine hits in the affair, but left 11 players on base and went 1-8 with runners in scoring position. Hyun-Jin Ryu took home hit first loss of the season.
Why is this Game Important?
The Dodgers continue to reside in third place in the NL West standings. They trail the Diamondbacks for the division lead by 3.5 games and trail the Brewers for the second wild card spot by 2.5 games. This is the farthest the Dodgers have been from a playoff spot this ate in a season since 2011. The Dodgers have not been swept since the middle of May.
Pitching Matchup
Walker Buehler (6-4, 3.19 ERA) vs Jack Flaherty (7-6, 3.05 ERA)
Walker Buehler pitches the final game of the set against the St. Louis. Buehler has stepped up his play over his last four starts. He has a 1.42 ERA in 25.1 innings during that stretch. This is his first time facing the Cardinals in his career.
Harvard Westlake alum Jack Flaherty will play against Los Angeles for the first time. He has a 0.95 ERA in three starts this month. The 22-year-old flamethrower has struckout at least seven batters in each of his last six games. He also has two 13 strikeout games this year.
Matchup of the Day
Cody Bellinger vs Jack Flaherty
Outside of Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger is the hottest bat in the Dodgers lineup. He has reached base in every game that he has started this month and is batting .394 in August. Bellinger entered the month with a .237 batting average and is now up to a respectable .260 mark.
Vegas Odds
Odds Sharks
Predicted score:
Dodgers: 2.7 Cardinals: 2.3
Moneyline Consensus
Los Angeles: -160
Cardinals: +150
FiveThirtyEight
Los Angeles: 56% chance of winning
Cardinals: 44% chance of winning
Fun Fact
Of the 1,005 Major Leaguers to play in 2018, 213 are from California. The second leading state is Florida, with 125 players.
Oh well so much for avoiding a sweep…. way the Dodger are playing the teams in the Little League World Series…would beat up on them.. they stinking up the field!!
So the ace closer has 5 losses and 4 blown saves. He fits right in with the rest of the garbage in the bullpen .
Season is over, unofficially and come October 5th or thereabouts there better be major house cleaning starting at the top working on down to the bottom or this team will never win anything again in our lifetime(s)!