Los Angeles Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals 4/8/19 MLB Odds, Preview and Prediction

The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals open a four game set on Monday at the New Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

Hyun Jin Ryu gets the call to start for the Dodgers on Monday. The Incheon, South Korea native has started two games so far this season and has put up a record of 2-0 with an ERA of 2.08, WHIP of 0.77 and BAA of .213. In his last outing, Hyun gave up only two runs on six hits in 7.0 innings pitched as the Dodgers beat the Giants 6-5 last April 1, 2019.

For the season, the left handed starter has given up a total of three runs, all earned, on 10 hits with no walks and 13 strikeouts. He is the early leader in the National League in wins (2), innings pitched (13) and winning percentage (100%). His WHIP of 0.77 is also the third best average in the NL.

Cody Bellinger is off to a fast start for the Dodgers as he leads the National League in RBIs (17), home runs (6), runs scored (13) and in slugging (.950). Bellinger’s batting average of .425 is also ranked 3rd in the NL. Max Muncy and A.J. Pollock are also contributing 8 RBIs each for the Dodgers.

For the Cardinals, it will be Miles Mikolas who will start opposite Hyun Jin Ryu on Monday in St. Louis. The 30 year old from Jupiter, Florida has started two games this season and has a record of 0-1 with an ERA of 7.20, WHIP of 1.50 and a BAA of .286. The Cardinals are 1-1 SU in the two games he’s pitched this season.

Mikolas has given up a total of 8 earned runs this season on 12 hits and four home runs given up. The four-year veteran right hander has also surrendered three walks and has struck out a total of five batters in a total of 10.0 innings pitched so far this season for St. Louis. In his last outing, Mikolas allowed three runs on seven hits in 5.0 innings as the Cardinals won 5-4 although he did not factor in the decision.

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt leads the Cardinals with five home runs and 9 RBIs while batting .219 on the season. Second baseman Kolten Wong lead the Cardinals in batting average with his .484. Wong also has an OBP of 0.484 and slugging of 923. Won and shortstop Paul DeJong each have drilled three homers for St. Louis.

Who Wins?

The Dodgers are 7-2 SU on the season and Los Angeles is 2-0 SU in two road games played so far The Cardinals are 3-5 SU in eight games played this season. St. Louis is 0-2 SU in two games at their home field so far. The Dodgers have been favorites in their first nine games and are thus 7-2 SU as favorites this season. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 2-3 SU as favorites and are 1-2 SU as underdogs so far this season. Head to head, the Dodgers are 3-1 SU in their last four meetings against the Cardinals.

Heading to their Sunday game against the Rockies, the Dodgers have won six out of their last seven games including the last four. The Cardinals avoided a sweep by beating the Rockies on Sunday. Despite that, they’ve lost both of their four-game sets so far this season, going 1-3 SU against the Brewers and 1-2 (with one postponed game) against the Rockies.

Hyun is off to a good start for the Dodgers while Mikolas has yet to find his 2018 form. I like the Dodgers to continue rolling here against a Cardinals team that is just 3-4 SU in their last four games played. I’m picking the Los Angeles Dodgers to beat the St. Louis Cardinals on 4/8/19.

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Other Bets To Make

Los Angeles is 5-4 ATS in nine games this season. The Dodgers are 2-0 ATS in their first two away games played so far. St. Louis is 5-3 ATS in their first eight games of the season. The Cardinals are 0-2 ATS in their first two home games of the year.

Los Angeles has outscored St. Louis by an average of 3.67 runs per game in their last three meetings. The Dodgers have also won six out of their last seven games by an average winning margin of 4.33 runs per game. The Dodgers are off to a fast start this season. They’ve played well behind Hyun Jin Ryu early in the season and I expect that trend to continue against a Cardinals team that’s lost its first two four-game series of the season. Prediction: Dodgers -1.5

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The total has gone over in seven out of the last nine games played by the Dodgers. The over is also 6-1-1 in the eight games played by the Cardinals so far this season. St. Louis has seen the total go over in their first two home games of the season. Head to head, the total has gone under in seven out of the last 10 games between these two teams.

This to me is the easiest pick of the day as the Dodgers’ offense has been averaging 8.0 runs per game this season. On the other hand, St. Louis has scored an average of 4.56 runs per game. Head to head, these teams have combined to score a total of 9.67 runs per game in their last three games played. Prediction: Over 8

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