Dodgers Defeat Cardinals, Avoid NLCS Elimination
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 last night to avoid elimination in the NLCS, and moved the series to 3-2. It’s a steep hole to climb out of, but the Dodgers are favored in Game 6 on Friday with a moneyline of -132 and superstar pitcher Clayton Kershaw taking the mound.
“We’ve kind of become America’s team because everyone wants to see a seventh game,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “Probably even the fans in St. Louis would like to see a seventh game, so I figure that everybody’s for us to win on Friday night.”
Dodgers pitcher Zach Greinke threw a good game against the Cardinals, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first inning to pitch seven strong innings. He even hit an RBI single.
“He wasn’t as sharp as he was the first time we faced him,” the Cardinals Carlos Beltran said of Greinke. “But guys like that, the best guys in the game, they’re able to regroup and find a way to help their team win.”
“He made his pitches, we made the plays, got out of it,” Gonzalez said. “We were able to get run support for him. All he needed was a few runs.”
“We had a couple of opportunities to do something, and we just couldn’t make it happen,” manager Mike Matheny said. “These guys have done a tremendous job in those exact same situations all season long. You’re going to have games where you just can’t make it happen, and we’ve got to figure out a way to get it done the next time we get a chance.”
The real story of the game, however, was the Dodgers power hitting. Adrian Gonzalez hit two solo home runs in the game, the first blasts for the Dodgers so far in the series. With Kershaw taking the mound on Friday, this series could very well be evened up and headed for Game 7 soon.
Here are all the betting trends and odds for both teams heading into last night’s game, courtesy of OddsShark.com.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers: -175 Moneyline Favorites
St. Louis Cardinals Trends
- St. Louis is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis’s last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis’s last 5 games when playing LA Dodgers
- St. Louis is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against LA Dodgers
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis’s last 7 games when playing on the road against LA Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers Trends
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Dodgers’s last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Dodgers’s last 6 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Dodgers’s last 5 games when playing St. Louis
- LA Dodgers is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against St. Louis
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Dodgers’s last 7 games when playing at home against St. Louis
