Thursday MLB Baseball Picks: Cardinals vs Dodgers
The best Sportsbook for America’s Pastime is BetUS.com! – From MLB teasers to parlays, from futures to wacky props, BetUS adds more excitement – CLICK HERE NOW + GET $75 FREE FOR MLB BETTING!
MLB Betting – Cardinals vs Dodgers Preview & Pick
Date: Thursday, April 13, 2011
Venue: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Broadcast: FSMW, FSPT
St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers Betting Lines from Betus.com
Money Line: Dodgers -125
Over/Under: 6.5
CLICK here for INDEPTH MLB ATS Stats for this matchup —>
Bet now at BETUS —>
St. Louis Cardinals (4-7 through April 12)
Jaime Garcia (1-0, 0.60)
If Major League Baseball handed out the Cy Young Award after two weeks, would St. Louis’ Jaime Garcia be the National League’s recipient? The sophomore has been nothing short of dominant over his first two starts of 2011. He followed up a complete-game shutout over San Diego with six innings of one-run ball against San Francisco. He struck out nine batters for the second straight game.
It’s a good thing Garcia has been so dominant, as the Cards are still holding their breath waiting for Albert Pujols to come around. Lance Berkman broke out with a two-homer game earlier this week but Albert is having his worst April ever. He went 3 for 5 on Tuesday – and that raised his average to .200. 
Los Angeles Dodgers (6-5 through April 12)
Hiroki Kuroda (2-0, 1.72)
The Los Angeles Dodgers are batting a mediocre .251 as a team – and that stat is even worse considering that Matt Kemp is doing pretty much all the hitting. He’s at a sizzling .472 to lead the majors; Andre Ethier is backing up him nicely at .381. Aside from the Dodgers’ top two hitters, however, no one else is contributing offensively.
Luckily, they’ll send the stingy Hiroki Kuroda to the hill on Thursday. Interestingly enough, he’s shut down the same two teams Garcia did, the Giants and Padres, in reverse order. Traditionally, Kuroda is a strong starter; he’s 6-3 with a 2.75 ERA in April for his career.
MLB Trends:
Over is 5-2-1 in STL last 8 road games.
Under is 11-5-2 in STL last 18 overall.
Under is 11-5-2 in STL last 18 on grass.
STL are 37-18 in the last 55 meetings.
The pick:
On paper, the Dodgers might make more sense. Kemp is on fire and Kuroda owns St. Louis to the tune of a 1.42 lifetime ERA. But Garcia is absolutely dialed in right now. He was unstoppable for an extended period in the first half of 2010 and seems to be repeating that feat this year. Also, Pujols’ three-hit game on Tuesday could be a sign that the sleeping giant has awoken. I like the Cards in a minor upset.
Cardinals vs Dodgers prediction: Cardinals 5, Dodgers 2
