Cardinals in LA to take on struggling Dodgers
Cardinals in LA to take on struggling Dodgers
Both teams own five-game leads in their respective divisions, the difference being the Cardinals' gap in the NL Central is growing wider while the Dodgers' lead out West shrinks. St. Louis checks in with wins in eight of their last nine and playing solid ball all around while Los Angeles is struggling with pitching injuries and slumping bats that belong to Russell Martin, Rafael Furcal and James Loney.
It’s still too early to panic if you’re a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. But go ahead and get warmed up.
The Dodgers (70-48, 12.96 units) are still five games ahead of the competition in the National League West. They still have the best run differential in the majors at +117, 13 runs better than the sizzling New York Yankees. But if a 162-game MLB season is a marathon, the Dodgers have hit the wall, going 3-6 in their last nine games and 8-13 since July 25. That’s not the kind of performance level you want to bring against a red-hot St. Louis Cardinals team that’s won eight of nine to open up a five-game lead in the NL Central.
This one isn’t on Manny Ramirez. He’s pulled out of his post All-Star slump with a .973 OPS in August, although that remains below Manny’s insane 1.232 OPS in 53 games last year as a Dodger. August has been considerably less kind to Rafael Furcal (.624 OPS), Russell Martin (.595 OPS) and the slumping James Loney (.555 OPS), who was reportedly dangled in front of the Cleveland Indians at the trade deadline as part of a package for Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.
An extra pitcher would come in handy right now for Los Angeles. The back end of the rotation has already been hit with injuries to Eric Milton (back) and Jason Schmidt (shoulder). Now Hiroki Kuroda (4.08 ERA, 3.78 xFIP) could land on the DL after taking a line drive off the bean Saturday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
St. Louis is also down a man after Todd Wellemeyer (5.67 ERA, 5.30 xFIP) was put back on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation. That means we’ll see some unfamiliar names mixed in with the alpha pitchers for both clubs during this important three-game set.
Game 1: Chris Carpenter vs. Charlie Haeger
Monday, 10:10 p.m. (ET) ESPN2
Haeger is a 25-year-old knuckleballer from Michigan, originally drafted in the 25th round of the 2001 draft by the Chicago White Sox. In Haeger’s words, he turned to the knuckleball in 2004 because he “couldn’t get anybody out.”
It’s still a challenge for him at the major-league level. Haeger has thrown 34 innings over the past three years for the White Sox and Padres, posting a 6.35 ERA with 26 walks and 24 strikeouts. Monday will be just his second start since making his MLB debut in a 12-5 loss to the L.A. Angels. Playing Goliath in this act is Carpenter (2.27 ERA, 3.42 xFIP), who has 3.45 units in profit this season on a team record of 12-7. The under is 12-6-1 in his 19 starts. Early betting odds had the Dodgers as +145 home dogs with a total of 7.5 runs.
Game 2: Mitchell Boggs vs. Chad Billingsley
Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. (ET)
Boggs (3.78 ERA, 4.73 xFIP) gets the start in place of Wellemeyer and looks like an improvement. The Cards have ridden his 95-mph fastball to five wins in six starts for a quick 3.29 units – although none of them were considered quality starts, including last week’s appearance against the Cincinnati Reds: four runs allowed over six innings in a 5-4 loss. Billingsley (3.73 ERA, 3.89 xFIP) has the more solid numbers behind the ERA, but the Dodgers ace is carrying a lot more chalk with 2.77 units of earnings on a team record of 15-9. He got creamed by the Cards for six runs in 5.2 innings when they met in St. Louis on July 28.
Game 3: Adam Wainwright vs. Clayton Kershaw
Wednesday, 10:10 p.m. (ET)
The rubber match should be a beauty. Wainwright (2.62 ERA, 3.63 xFIP) plays in the shadow of Carpenter, but is having a terrific season in his own right – a great combination for profit at 4.89 units on a 17-8 record. He blanked the Dodgers over eight innings in that game I just mentioned, hanging a 10-0 loss on Billingsley and cashing in at -118. Results have been a bit more mixed for Kershaw (2.91 ERA, 4.17 xFIP). The Dodgers have supplied the young lefty only 4.33 runs per game (compared to five for Billingsley), just enough to split his 24 starts down the middle and lose 4.64 units in the process.
Both teams own five-game leads in their respective divisions, the difference being the Cardinals' gap in the NL Central is growing wider while the Dodgers' lead out West shrinks. St. Louis checks in with wins in eight of their last nine and playing solid ball all around while Los Angeles is struggling with pitching injuries and slumping bats that belong to Russell Martin, Rafael Furcal and James Loney.
It’s still too early to panic if you’re a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. But go ahead and get warmed up.
The Dodgers (70-48, 12.96 units) are still five games ahead of the competition in the National League West. They still have the best run differential in the majors at +117, 13 runs better than the sizzling New York Yankees. But if a 162-game MLB season is a marathon, the Dodgers have hit the wall, going 3-6 in their last nine games and 8-13 since July 25. That’s not the kind of performance level you want to bring against a red-hot St. Louis Cardinals team that’s won eight of nine to open up a five-game lead in the NL Central.
This one isn’t on Manny Ramirez. He’s pulled out of his post All-Star slump with a .973 OPS in August, although that remains below Manny’s insane 1.232 OPS in 53 games last year as a Dodger. August has been considerably less kind to Rafael Furcal (.624 OPS), Russell Martin (.595 OPS) and the slumping James Loney (.555 OPS), who was reportedly dangled in front of the Cleveland Indians at the trade deadline as part of a package for Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.
An extra pitcher would come in handy right now for Los Angeles. The back end of the rotation has already been hit with injuries to Eric Milton (back) and Jason Schmidt (shoulder). Now Hiroki Kuroda (4.08 ERA, 3.78 xFIP) could land on the DL after taking a line drive off the bean Saturday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
St. Louis is also down a man after Todd Wellemeyer (5.67 ERA, 5.30 xFIP) was put back on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation. That means we’ll see some unfamiliar names mixed in with the alpha pitchers for both clubs during this important three-game set.
Game 1: Chris Carpenter vs. Charlie Haeger
Monday, 10:10 p.m. (ET) ESPN2
Haeger is a 25-year-old knuckleballer from Michigan, originally drafted in the 25th round of the 2001 draft by the Chicago White Sox. In Haeger’s words, he turned to the knuckleball in 2004 because he “couldn’t get anybody out.”
It’s still a challenge for him at the major-league level. Haeger has thrown 34 innings over the past three years for the White Sox and Padres, posting a 6.35 ERA with 26 walks and 24 strikeouts. Monday will be just his second start since making his MLB debut in a 12-5 loss to the L.A. Angels. Playing Goliath in this act is Carpenter (2.27 ERA, 3.42 xFIP), who has 3.45 units in profit this season on a team record of 12-7. The under is 12-6-1 in his 19 starts. Early betting odds had the Dodgers as +145 home dogs with a total of 7.5 runs.
Game 2: Mitchell Boggs vs. Chad Billingsley
Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. (ET)
Boggs (3.78 ERA, 4.73 xFIP) gets the start in place of Wellemeyer and looks like an improvement. The Cards have ridden his 95-mph fastball to five wins in six starts for a quick 3.29 units – although none of them were considered quality starts, including last week’s appearance against the Cincinnati Reds: four runs allowed over six innings in a 5-4 loss. Billingsley (3.73 ERA, 3.89 xFIP) has the more solid numbers behind the ERA, but the Dodgers ace is carrying a lot more chalk with 2.77 units of earnings on a team record of 15-9. He got creamed by the Cards for six runs in 5.2 innings when they met in St. Louis on July 28.
Game 3: Adam Wainwright vs. Clayton Kershaw
Wednesday, 10:10 p.m. (ET)
The rubber match should be a beauty. Wainwright (2.62 ERA, 3.63 xFIP) plays in the shadow of Carpenter, but is having a terrific season in his own right – a great combination for profit at 4.89 units on a 17-8 record. He blanked the Dodgers over eight innings in that game I just mentioned, hanging a 10-0 loss on Billingsley and cashing in at -118. Results have been a bit more mixed for Kershaw (2.91 ERA, 4.17 xFIP). The Dodgers have supplied the young lefty only 4.33 runs per game (compared to five for Billingsley), just enough to split his 24 starts down the middle and lose 4.64 units in the process.
