St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: Odds, Analysis, MLB Betting Pick

The St. Louis Cardinals (69-57) will try to stay hot and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers (67-59) for the fourth consecutive time on Tuesday when they visit them again as large road underdogs at the sportsbooks.

The Cardinals won the series opener 5-3 on Monday to earn their third straight victory against the Dodgers and 11th in 13 games overall after losing six of the previous seven meetings, according to the OddsShark MLB Database.

MLB betting line: The Dodgers opened as -155 favorites (wager $155 to win $100); the total is at eight runs, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

MLB betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 4.0-0.6, Dodgers (MLB picks on every game)

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Why the Cardinals can pay on the MLB lines

St. Louis is playing as well as any team in baseball right now and has passed Los Angeles in the National League standings.

If the postseason started today, the Dodgers would not be in the playoff field, and the Cardinals would like to keep it that way since they are in direct competition with them for one of the two wild-card spots.

Rookie pitcher Daniel Poncedeleon (0-0, 2.04 ERA) will make his second career start, and he was nearly perfect in his first back on July 23 against the Cincinnati Reds.

In that road game at Cincinnati, the 26-year-old threw seven hitless innings en route to a 2-1 win, walking three and striking out three on 116 total pitches. So the potential is there.

Why the Dodgers can pay on the MLB lines

Los Angeles got great news before Monday's game when it was announced that closer Kenley Jansen is back from an irregular heartbeat with no restrictions.

The Dodgers struggled without Jansen, going 4-7 in the 11 games he missed and falling out of first place in the NL West.

Despite losing the series opener, they also have to be happy with how Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-0, 1.77 ERA) pitched after returning from a groin injury.

The 31-year-old threw six scoreless innings in a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants last Wednesday, scattering three hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He had not pitched since May 2.

Smart betting pick

Even though the price is a bit high on Los Angeles in this spot, the right team is favored with a much more experienced starting pitcher on the mound.

The Dodgers simply cannot afford to lose here, so look for them to bounce back with a big victory Tuesday.

MLB betting trends

The total has gone under in four of St. Louis' last six games.

The total has gone under in 15 of Los Angeles' last 23 games.

The total has gone under in four of Los Angeles' last five games when playing St. Louis.

All MLB odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app.