Cardinals Favored In First Game Of NLDS Against Dodgers At BoDog

NFL News - October 7th, 2009 - Written by Scott

The St. Louis Cardinals will travel to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of their playoff series beginning tonight.  The Cardinals are making their first playoff appearance since 2006 when they won the World Series.  This will also be their 7th time this decade that they have made it to the playoffs.  The Dodgers had to wait until the final weekend of the regular season to clinch their playoff spot after a five game losing streak.  Both teams struggled at the end of the regular season and will now try to prove that this was just a fluke. St. Louis holds the series edge during the regular season winning 5 out of 7 games

The Cardinals will have the edge in this series in regards to pitching.  Chris Carpenter will get the start for the NL Central champions in Game 1.  He led the league with a 2.24 ERA and compiled a 17-4 record during the regular season.

Albert Pujols is the leader on offense for St. Louis.  He leads the team in all offensive categories with a .327 batting average, 47 home runs, and 135 RBI's.  The Cardinals acquired Matt Holiday during the regular season and this has proven to be a great asset for their club.  Holiday is batting .353 with 13 home runs during his time with St. Louis this year.  The Cardinals have struggled against left handed pitchers this year and are only batting .234 against southpaws.  They also have two Gold Glove winners in Pujols and catcher Yadier Molina.  Molina has thrown out 41% of runners attempting to steal.

Los Angeles will send left-hander Randy Wolf to the mound against the Dodgers tonight.  During the regular season, he was 11-7 with an ERA of 3.23.  Wolf, who is making his first playoff appearance,  has not lost a start since August 1.  After beginning the season at 5-6 with 13 no-decisions in his first 24 starts, he rebounded and finished the season 6-1.

The Los Angeles Dodgers boasted a league best batting average during the regular season.  They finished with a .270 batting average, despite hitting .257 as a team over the last month.   Matt Kemp leads the team with a .297 batting average.  Their leader in home runs and RBIs is Andre Ethier.  Ethier had 31 home runs and 106 RBIs during the regular season.  Slugger Manny Ramirez struggled at the plate late in the regular season, but he does play well in the playoffs as he is the all-time postseason home run leader with 28.

Bodog sportsbook has the odds for tonight's game for the Cardinals at -1 1/2 (+125). The odds on winning the series for St. Louis are 3-0 (+450), 3-1 (+330), and 3-2 (+300).  The over/under is set at 7.

The odds for Los Angeles tonight are at +1 1/2 (-145).  The odds on winning the series for the Dodgers are 3-0 (+750), 3-1 (+400), and 3-2 (+400).

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