Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
8:15 PM Thursday July 15 MLBN
Pitching Probables: Clayton Kershaw vs Chris Carpenter
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It’s is usually hard to get a great pitching matchup coming out of the All-Star Break but this one qualifies. Kershaw struck out 12 in his last start before the break and is enjoying a stellar season, albeit overshadowed by all the other dominant hurlers in the NL (hence no All-Star nod). He struck out 10 Cardinals in June in a 4-3 victory over the Cards and L.A. won all three games in that earlier series at Dodger Stadium, make it has won 6 in a row against STL if you include last year’s playoff sweep. They are in the thick of the NL and wildcard races and want to get off to a good start to the second half.
Chris Carpenter didn’t start when the Cards got swept in L.A in June. If he had that might not have been the case. In seven career starts against the Dodgers he is 5-0 with a stellar 1.88 ERA. For his career his splits don’t show much difference between first and second half performance but if you are a what have you done for me lately kind of guy you are likely impressed by the fact that he was 10-1 after the break last year. The Cards need him to continue to pitch like that if they want to catch and pass the surprising Cincinatti Reds. The Reds have been playing better than expected while the Cards have underperformed. They have the second best ERA in the majors but are not scoring enough to win regularly (20th – 4.44 runs per game). Surprising given that Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday are both hitting .300 or better.
Prediction: I see a pitchers duel like we saw in the mid-summer classic. I give the edge to St. Louis because Carpenter has really done well against L.A. and should be able to work deeper into the game. A complete game wouldn’t shock me.
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Score Prediction:
St. Louis Cardinals – 2
Los Angeles Dodgers – 0
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