After losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals fell out of first place in the NL Central. They will try to regain their spot with a win on Tuesday in the second game of a three-game series. However, the Dodgers are heavy home favorites in Tuesday’s game with a moneyline of -190, while the Cardinals have a moneyline of +160.
With Monday’s loss, the Cardinals finished May with back-to-back losses, helping to cancel out a four-game winning streak prior to that. The Red Birds actually finished the month just 5-6 in their last 11 games. As a result, the Cards are now half a game behind the Chicago Cubs atop the NL Central despite being six games over .500.
The Dodgers also had an uneven finish to the month of May that has helped to keep them out of first place in the NL West. After rattling off an eight-game winning streak, Los Angeles went 2-4 to close out the month. Nevertheless, the Dodgers are 10 games over .500 despite being two games behind the San Diego Padres.
Is the Price Right?
David Price is in line to get the start on Tuesday in what will be his third start for the Dodgers in 2021. Since he opened the year in the bullpen, Price still isn’t stretched out, pitching just 2.2 innings in his last start. On the bright side, Price hasn’t allowed a run since April, yielding just four hits over his 6.2 innings during the month of May.
Price also has limited experience against most of the St. Louis hitters he’ll face on Tuesday, spending most of his career in the American League. Unfortunately for Price, there are several Cardinals who have heated up over the past week, including Tommy Edman, Yadier Molina, and Tyler O’Neill. Nolan Arenado and Dylan Carlson are also constant threats, as they’ve been consistent all season and carried the lineup with Paul Goldschmidt having a down year.
Giant Gant
Opposing Price and the Dodgers on the mound for St. Louis will be John Gant. He’s quietly had a sensational season, going 4-3 with a 1.81 ERA over his first nine starts of the season. The caveat is that Gant has rarely been able to go deeper than five innings this year and owns a 1.57 WHIP, so command issues have plagued him at times.
The last thing that Gant needs is to put extra runners on base against a lineup that’s averaging five runs per game in its last six games, albeit going 2-4 during that span. Despite plenty of ups and downs from the Dodgers this year, both Justin Turner and Chris Taylor have been raking lately to lead the offense. The team’s contingent of left-handed hitters led by Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger could also create trouble for Gant.
Bullpen Game?
With Gant rarely going beyond five innings and Price not fully stretched out, this game could be decided by the bullpens. The Dodgers have the advantage in that area, not to mention the more potent lineup.
Bet on the Dodgers to beat the Cardinals again on Tuesday.
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