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Dodgers and Cardinals square-off on ESPN this Wednesday night – Game Overview

Los Angeles started this extended four-game series against St. Louis with a 5-3 victory as a 134 road underdog on Monday night to extend its current winning streak to five games. The Dodgers are now 53-44 on the year and just a game and a half in back of San Francisco in the NL West Division race. Monday night’s win also raised their record on the road this season to an even 24-24. The total stayed ‘under’ the nine-run line, but had gone ‘over’ in LA’s four previous games.

This streak has breathed some new life into a Dodgers’ team that had let a big early season lead in the division slip away. They are still ranked 12th in the NL in scoring with an average of 3.91 runs per game, but they are second in the league in pitching with a team ERA of 3.28. Aaron Harang is slated to get the start for LA on Wednesday night. The right-hander is 7-5 on the year with a 3.46 ERA. In three previous starts this month, he has given-up a total of four earned runs on 11 hits. Lifetime against the Cardinals, Harang is 7-13 with a 4.47 ERA.

St. Louis continues to battle for a spot in the postseason, but with six losses in its last 10 games, it is now six games in back of Cincinnati in the NL Central and 2.5 games out of a wildcard spot. The Cardinals are 50-46 overall and 26-21 at home. The total has now stayed ‘under’ in eight of their last nine games.

The St. Louis pitching staff has fallen to sixth in the NL with a 3.75 team ERA, but its lineup continues to put runs on the board as the highest scoring team in the league. The Cardinals will send Kyle Lohse to the mound in this one. He held Chicago to just one run in seven innings this past Friday to post his ninth-straight quality start. The right-hander is now 10-2 on the year with a 2.71 ERA. He is 2-3 against the Dodgers with an ERA of 5.36.

Prediction

Heading into Tuesday’s Game 2, Los Angeles has now beaten the Cardinals eight straight times including the last four games at Busch Stadium. While the Dodgers may extend this current streak to nine, with Lohse on the mound for Wednesday night’s game, bank on the Cardinals getting the win in Game 3. St. Louis 4 Los Angeles 2