The Cardinals have dominated visiting foes at Busch Stadium in series immediately following the All-Star break.
Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals
Los Angeles received disappointing back-to-back efforts by its top two pitchers in dropping the first two games of this four-game set in St. Louis. Thursday starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw managed to go just 4.1 innings and right-hander Chad Billingsley followed with just four innings. “Billingsley just had a bad game,” manager Joe Torre said. “He had no explanation and Kershaw didn’t either.” The offense produced 13 hits in the 8-4 losing effort last night, but stranded 12 runners. The Dodgers have still won six of their last eight games against the Cardinals, including a three-game sweep in Los Angeles on June 7-9. The club won its only game of the year as a road underdog of +150 to +175 and stands at 7-5 in this spot the last three years (+610).
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Chicago has won two of the first three games on its current road trip, averaging 6.5 runs in the process. The Cubs entered the game ranked 14th in the National League in runs scored and had scored three or fewer runs in 14 of their last 20 games before Saturday’s 7-3 victory. “Finally,” said third baseman Aramis Ramirez. “We just have to come back after the break and keep doing what we’re doing now.” Ramirez has posted five consecutive multi-hit games to raise his season average from .178 to .209. The club is 11-4 against NL West competition this season, while going 28-45 against all other teams. Chicago has had a difficult time in producing winning streaks this season, posting a 14-24 record after a win (-1,510).
