Dodgers Cardinals Game One Preview

The Dodgers are kicking off a three game series against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight at home.

After coming off of a dominant performance from Clayton Kershaw last night and a 5-0 win over the Mets, the Dodgers look to carry that offensive and pitching performance into this series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ross Stripling will be heading to the mound in the series opener. Striping has done well since the Dodgers called him up and added him to the rotation earlier this season. In his last start on Sunday, Striping only allowed one run and one hit, while striking out six and issuing no walks in Toronto. Though he has been impressive so far, Stripling is still looking for his first major league game win. He is coming into tonight’s game with a record of 0-2 and an ERA of 3.82. He has 28 strikeouts and 12 walks on the season.

The Cardinals will be sending Michael Wacha to the mound. Wacha and Stripling are no strangers to one another. They both attended Texas A&M and were not only teammates on the baseball team, but also roommates. The two friends will be facing each other looking for the win. Wacha’s first few starts this season were quality ones where he at least pitches six innings. However, he is coming into tonight’s game after only pitching five innings against the Pirates and giving up four runs. Wacha has a record of 2-3 and an ERA of 3.12. He also has 38 strikeouts and 14 walks on the season.

If you have followed the Dodgers the past few seasons thinking about the Cardinals brings up some bad memories. Even though this is just a three game series in mid May, it still means a lot to the Dodgers who have struggled in the past against the team.

The Cardinals have a road record of 10-6, but find themselves in third place in the N.L Central division with an overall record of 19-16. The Dodgers are still tied for first in the N.L West and they are just one game above 500 with a record of 18-17.

The Dodgers lineup for this evening’s game can be found below:

Chase Utley gets a night off, as does Yasmani Grandal, who has homered in the last two games. Trayce Thompson makes his first start since his walk-off on Tuesday.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PST and will be shown on Sportsnet LA.