Cardinals open 3-game series against the Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers (38-25, first in the NL West) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (34-28, second in the NL Central)

St. Louis; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Dodgers: Justin Wrobleski (0-0); Cardinals: Sonny Gray (6-1, 3.65 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 76 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Dodgers -118, Cardinals -102; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals begin a three-game series at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.

St. Louis has a 20-10 record in home games and a 34-28 record overall. The Cardinals have gone 24-6 in games when they scored at least five runs.

Los Angeles is 38-25 overall and 15-14 on the road. The Dodgers have the best team slugging percentage in MLB play at .465.

Friday's game is the first time these teams meet this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Lars Nootbaar leads the Cardinals with eight home runs while slugging .403. Nolan Arenado is 6 for 38 with two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games.

Shohei Ohtani has nine doubles, four triples, 23 home runs and 39 RBIs for the Dodgers. Max Muncy is 10 for 31 with six home runs and 15 RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 5-5, .236 batting average, 4.91 ERA, outscored by 16 runs

Dodgers: 6-4, .279 batting average, 4.35 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs

INJURIES: Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore: day-to-day (fatigue), Jordan Walker: 10-Day IL (wrist), Zack Thompson: 60-Day IL (lat)

Dodgers: Luis Garcia: 15-Day IL (adductor), Tyler Glasnow: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Evan Phillips: 60-Day IL (forearm), Kirby Yates: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Blake Snell: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Roki Sasaki: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Blake Treinen: 60-Day IL (forearm), Michael Kopech: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Edgardo Henriquez: 60-Day IL (foot), Kyle Hurt: 60-Day IL (elbow), Emmet Sheehan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Grove: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brusdar Graterol: 60-Day IL (shoulder), River Ryan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Gavin Stone: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.