Brett Anderson (2-3, 3.42 ERA) and Carlos Martinez (5-2, 3.13 ERA) start in the second of a four-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers (31-23) and the St. Louis Cardinals (36-18) at Dodger Stadium. The Cardinals won the last game 7-1 and St. Louis leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 10:10 p.m. ET on Friday, Jun. 5 and can be seen on FSN-MW and SportsNet LA.
Anderson pitched 6.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering two runs, striking out five and walking three in a 3-1 defeat to the Cardinals. Adrian Gonzalez (.337, 37 Rs, 11 HRs, 39 RBIs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run. Martinez is 1-1 with a 3.43 ERA when pitching against the Dodgers. He takes on a good Los Angeles offense which is hitting .261 this season. Jhonny Peralta (.318, 27 Rs, 8 HRs, 32 RBIs, 1 SB) has been successful at the plate, going 3 for 4 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
Los Angeles is a -124 favorite against St. Louis and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Dodgers have an overall money line of +53 and a record as the favorite of 28-19. The Dodgers are one of the best in the MLB in terms of home runs with 74. Los Angeles leads the whole NL in walks, earning an average of 3.7 per game. As for the pitchers, opponents have consistently been struck out by the Dodgers, who lead the NL in strikeouts per home game with 9.5.
In the other locker room, in contrast to an encouraging overall money line (+1,471), St. Louis has an unimpressive 6-9 record when playing as the underdog. They have managed to pull off a perfect record over their last ten games while playing as the underdog, and have an 8-2 SU record over the same span. The Cardinals allow 2.9 runs per game, but have improved upon those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 2.1 runs per game during that span. The Cardinals have established a reputation of overwhelming hitters with an NL-best 8.0 strikeouts per road game, making them one of the top five teams in the league.
The Cardinals lead the season series, 3-1. The Dodgers have a great 20-4 record at home (29-16 overall) against right-handed starting pitchers, which is what they’ll be facing when Martinez takes the mound. Anderson (LHP) will be on the hill against the Cardinals, who have a 6-5 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – LAD, O/U – Over
Notes
The Cardinals are 5-3 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are 2-2 in such matchups.
The Cardinals are coming into this game after allowing zero walks during their last outing. The Dodgers have a 1-2 record when opponents give up that many walks.
When they are outhit, the Dodgers are 4-15. The Cardinals have a 9-11 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 25th in home runs, St. Louis has hit 40 this season. Los Angeles ranks second with 74 home runs.
Ranking seventh, Los Angeles is in the top 10 of the league in hits, notching 8.60 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top five at fourth with 9.13.
Los Angeles ranks at the top of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage of .789. St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at 10th with an OPS of .730.
The Cardinals are 15-12 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Dodgers are 14-16 when they allow at least one homer.
