If you want to see two teams straight up not having a good time right now, look no further than this Cardinals-Dodgers matchup on Tuesday night.
The defending champs are in their roughest stretch of the season. On July 3, the Dodgers beat the white Sox to move to 56-32. They’ve gone 9-16 since July 4. There are questions to be answered in Chavez Ravine during the stretch run.
St. Louis is slumping as well. They were 51-46 and in the Wild Card race going into the All-Star break; since then, they’ve gone 6-11 and fallen 5.5 games behind the third Wild Card spot. It forced the hand of the front office, which dealt away a trio of relievers at the deadline, including star closer Ryan Helsley. That soft sell left them with a minimal chance of making a playoff charge. Every loss forces them to think harder about next season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are -194 Moneyline favorites on the DraftKings Sportsbook. The run total is set at nine runs. Let’s dig into a preview, prediction, and best bet for this Cardinals-Dodgers game.
Dodgers vs. Cardinals prediction, preview
This isn’t the most inspired pitching matchup you’ll see, especially for two teams playing .500 or better baseball.
Emmet Sheehan takes the mound for the Dodgers. After missing the 2024 season with Tommy John surgery, the 25-year-old returns to a Los Angeles team rife with pitching injuries. This will be his fifth start of the year, and while his 3.60 ERA looks fine, it comes with an extremely low ground-ball rate and high hard-contact rate. That’s bound to come back to bite him sooner or later.
At least Sheehan is young, has good stuff, and has gotten some results. Miles Mikolas is a soft-tosser about to turn 37 who has been getting shelled for three seasons straight. He signed a three-year, $55.75 million deal after an All-Star campaign in 2022. Since then, he has put up a 5.00 ERA across 88 starts. Mikolas doesn’t miss bats, induce a lot of ground balls, or stay away from barrels. That’s a difficult equation, even against a struggling Dodgers offense.
It’s no wonder the Dodgers are heavy favorites in this one despite their slump since they’re the better team facing the worse starter. But the value here is on the over. Sheehan has some warts and this Cardinals lineup can get hot, especially when they’re working balls in the gaps. On top of that, neither bullpen is very inspiring. We should have runs on the board tonight at Dodger Stadium.
Top pick: Over 9 Total Runs (-119)
