Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals – Major League Baseball – Betting Preview and Prediction – July 18, 2014

In a battle between National League giants, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals will begin a three-game set at Busch Stadium on Friday. The Cardinals are just a game behind NL Central leaders Milwaukee Brewers, while the L.A. Dodgers look to keep their hold atop NL West at the expense of the Cardinals.

Another match happening on Friday is the interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees. A win for both teams can put them in better positions in their respective divisions. You can view the preview for the Yankees-Reds game here.

Read on for everything you need to know about the Dodgers and Cardinals first game back from the All-Star Break.
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Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals, Major League Baseball, Betting Preview and Prediction

Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

When: Friday, July 18, 8:15 PM ET

Line: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals – view all MLB lines

Betting on Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t score much against the San Diego Padres in their last two games, but were very efficient in clinching back-to-back 1-0 wins.

[sc:MLB240banner ]Dodgers batter Yasil Puig went 2-for-4 to drive in the winning run off Dee Gordon on Sunday. Aside from contributing to the team’s previous outing, Puig also leads the Dodgers in runs scored with 53 and has the best batting average with .309.  The Dodgers are 10th in the majors in runs scored with 404, and they own the seventh-best batting average with .258.

Come Friday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles will be starting Dan Haren (8-6, 4.23 ERA). The Los Angeles pitcher has lost back-to-back games while surrendering 12 earned runs while pitching 9.1 innings over his last two starts.

Haren’s team is 4-2 in the six career games he’s started against St. Louis.

The Dodgers are 3-7 in their last 10 road games against St. Louis.

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Betting on St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals missed their high-scoring ways in an 11-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Even with the loss, St. Louis still managed to win the series 2-1 after getting a total of 17 runs to win the first two games.

For this game, the Cardinals will be banking on pitcher Lance Lynn (10-6, 3.14 ERA) to put on another quality performance. Lynn has posted back-to-back wins heading toward his team’s showdown with the L.A. Dodgers, striking out 10 in 12 1/2 innings. However, the Dodgers have been hitting well with Lynn on the mound, with their batters averaging .306 in their careers against the pitcher.

St. Louis’ leader in homers with 14, Jhonny Peralta, will have some confidence coming into the game against Los Angeles as he has hit .296 against Haren in his career. Among the other Cardinals batters, Matt Holiday will also be useful having gone 6-for-23 with two homers against the Dodgers pitcher.

The St. Louis Cardinals have won four of their last six games.

Writer’s Prediction

The St. Louis Cardinals hand the Los Angeles Dodgers a loss to inch them closer to the top of NL Central.
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